A Darker Hero
by XSomeGuyX
Summary: A mysterious teen travels to different worlds after forced into leaving his own. His presence and the presence of others like him may change these worlds dramatically, or not at all. Story revolves around an OC. No pairing as of yet. Revised Chapter 2.
1. The Guy Who Flies The Plane Chapter 1

**The Guy Who Flies the Plane Chapter 1**

******AN:** I just updated this chapter because the first chapter was embarrassingly riddled with mistakes and I hope I got them all or at the very least, the majority of them. I will be working to fix all the other chapters as well. I just need time in order to go over them. Unfortunately, the next chapter will be put off for another week or so until I fix the few beginning chapters. Thank you for reading and as I always say: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Rays of sunlight beamed through the blinds of a dust-covered window into a room with a trash riddled floor. All four walls were bare and gray as a heavy layer of dust covered the white the walls were originally painted in. On the floor, other than the trash, were two pieces of furniture: a large bed and a small desk. The desk contained a couple of trophies, though these too were covered in a layer of dust that seemed to have collected over the three plus years since they had been won. Finally, a boy was sprawled on the bed, sheets thrown partially off the edge and the pillows all piled underneath his head.

Another boy slammed the door to the room wide opened; he still had a toothbrush in his mouth as he called out to the one still asleep, "HEY!WAKE UP, WE'RE ABOUT TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

The boy, surprised by the unorthodox wake up call, fell, face first, out of his bed. "Ouch," the boy said as he lifted himself off the floor.

"Oh, wait….We're already late. Ok whatever, take your time. It doesn't matter anyway," the other boy said, after checking the hallway clock.

"You did that on purpose you son of…"

"I didn't… Or did I?" the boy in the doorway interrupted, and then giving an evil laugh, he ran out of the room.

As he changed into his street clothes, he once again fell on his face as he hurriedly tried to put his pants on. A huge thud rung through the house, the other boy came back to check the source, "Yo, you alright Nando?"

"What do you care?" the boy asked, lying on the floor. "You already made me fall when you woke me up, so why do you care that I fell again? Just go get ready, Tony."

"But I actually got to see the first time you fell, so it was funny," Tony laughed.

"I hate mornings…" the teen on the floor said grumpily.

Another voice was heard from the first floor of the house. "FERNANDO! ANTHONY! BOTH OF YOU GET TO SCHOOL BEFORE KICK BOTH OF YOU OUT OF THIS HOUSE MYSELF! GET TO SCHOOL NOW! ESPECIALLY YOU TONY!"

Chills ran down both of the boys' spines as they heard the screams of the angry woman. Both quickly finished their morning rituals and ran out of the house as fast as they could. Running back into the house for just a moment, Fernando grabbed his lengthy black jacket off the coat rack by the door and once again raced out of the house.

* * *

"Why does she hate me so much?" Tony wined.

"Well maybe it was because you almost burned down the house. Or maybe it's because you never listening to a word she says. Just be happy that she hasn't kicked you out yet," Fernando said with a sigh, looking at the floor.

"Somethin's bothering you? I thought you were in a bad mood today and it looks like you had a pretty rough night," Tony said, noticing the bags under his friend's silvered eyes.

"I had the same dream last night. You know the one I told you about that I've been having for weeks now. The one where I see the city in ruins and dead people scattered all over the city streets. Blood was running like rivers throughout the sidewalks and streets. There was debris everywhere, almost every building destroyed. Fires were spreading everywhere. The man, the same man from every dream, was there leading it he's always in the same clothes. White coat, white hair, white pants, he is nearly all in white. The only feature not white about him are his eyes, there look almost as if they were rusted metal," Fernando described his dream in detail.

"Huh? You were saying somethin'? ...Did you really have to do that?" Tony asked, after Fernando gave him a quick chop to the back of his neck.

"Yes, yes I did because you're an asshole. You never listen to a word anyone says, do you?" Fernando asked. "And you the one asked this time… Maybe you should get checked for A.D.D."

"I heard you, kind of… About the dream you had or somethin' like that? But a dream is just a dream; if dreams came true then I would've already lost my virginity to two hot French twins!" his friend said.

"That was exceedingly unnecessary. Seriously, way too much information, you should keep stuff like to yourself," Fernando responded, just then he felt a huge amount of pain come over his head. "There was one…" he paused, the pain becoming overwhelming. "There was a difference in yesterday's dream that none of the rest had, one very eerie detail," Fernando fell to the ground, now grasping his head.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"I was standing on a newspaper. What's the date today?" Fernando asked, trying fight through the pain but every second it becoming more and more unbearable.

"It's March 3rd, why?" Tony asked in complete confusion.

"That was the same date on the newspaper. The city will be destroyed today," Fernando said, his voice much harsher, almost inhuman.

"But it was just a dream," Tony said.

"No, no it was vision, a warning," he said as he shook his head. Tony was terrified by the look in his friend's eyes, one was glowing a bloody, crimson red, the other was as black as a moonless night. Then almost as if he had left his body, he went limp but did not fall. In the background, right behind Fernando's unmoving body, Tony saw a flaming building falling towards them. Quickly reacting to the situation, Tony pushed his unconscious friend out of the way the building's path and jumped the opposite way.

Both heard a voice in their heads, which snapped Fernando back to consciousness."It is time," was all it said.


	2. The Guy Who Flies The Plane Chapter 2

**The Guy Who Flies the Plane Chapter 2**

**AN:** Now both Pilot chapters' revisions are done! I hope I got, if not all, then at least the majority of the mistakes. For you who are new to this story, the lines are breaks in between scenes and, if you haven't already guessed, **AN **= Author's Note. Also for you loyal older fans, I apologize for not working on the next chapter. Don't worry though, it's coming... eventually. I'll still be working mostly on revisions because I think they're due. It might be all my mistakes that scares away some people. Anyways, I ask that you be patient with me and hopefully I'll have it done in a week or so. So until then, Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Standing back up, Fernando dusted himself off and examined the fallen building. Finding no way around it, he yelled for his friend, "Yo, Tony! Are you dead?"

"Not yet, what about you?" Tony yelled, also dusting himself off.

"No, you moro… no, yeah, I am dead, that's why I'm still talking to you," Fernando replied in an extremely sarcastic tone.

"You don't gotta be so sarcastic," Tony said.

"Hey! When did the building fall?" the teen on the opposite side asked, looking very confused.

"You can't be serious; you mean to tell me you can't remember what happened like a second ago?" Tony yelled with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"No, I can't. It felt like I blacked out for awhile. I can't even recall how long it was since I blacked out," Fernando responded.

"Well it must've been when you got that weird ass look on your face, nearly scared the crap out of me. You had one eye glowing a bloody red and the other was completely black, you said somethin' then you stopped moving and just stood there. Then I noticed the building was falling and I had to push you out of the way cuz you still weren't moving," Tony told him from the other side of the fallen building.

"Oh I'm sorry, 'Did you say somethin'?'"Fernando said, mimicking him.

"You don't let anything go, do you?" Tony said.

"When it comes to you? No," Fernando said. Almost immediately after their conversation, the streets became flooded with people. With panic taking its hold on the citizens, they all scattered in frenzy; it was easy for the two boys to get swept up in crowd. Like fish in a strong current, both were completely swept away and taken to the opposite ends of the city.

* * *

"Where am I...? What the hell's going on around here?" Tony asked himself, as he wandered around a mostly abandoned part of town. He soon had to run from other falling skyscrapers as they crashed into each other like dominoes.

He then heard the screams of people coming from nearby as he told himself, "I know that I'm gonna regret this but I really gotta see what happened and why everyone's panicking," Getting closer to the source of the noise, he found dead bodies littered everywhere. "Maybe now's a good time to turn back."

Then he managed to catch a glimpse of another few people falling to the ground. 'Every part of my body tells me to run but I really wanna see what I'm running from,' he thought to himself. Hiding behind a pile of debris close by, he spied on many squads of men slaughtering the citizens of the city. Most were using a weird gun looking device, but others were using small swords. His eyes widened as he saw brutal men kill every last man, woman and child in the area without giving so much as glimmer of remorse for what they were doing. The debris that he had been laying on gave into his weight and made a huge noise alerting all the strange looking men. "And that my cue to run my ass out of here," Tony said, turning around and readied himself to sprint away at full speed.

But before he could even start, he was suddenly grabbed at the throat by man nearly a foot taller than him. This man was different from all the others, though. Looking at the man, Tony was able to remember and put everything together. The blood and bodies in the streets, the city in flames and ruins, and now this man in front of him wearing all white. "He said this would happen. Maybe I should have listen to him more," Tony struggled to say.

"So you know of the person I'm looking for, or at least one of them. I'm not going to kill you. It seems that I can use you," the man told him as he struggled to get out of his grip. He picked Tony up off the floor and once they had eye contact, his body went limp.

* * *

The other side of the city was just as bloody, destroyed and deserted as the first. Fernando wandered around, finding corpses lying all over the streets, pools of blood gathering under them. This reminded him of his dream; it was so uncanny that he was a little startled by it. "Damn… What's happening?" he asked himself. He heard a scream nearby, he raced to the source. He found a mother and child on the floor, cornered by a militant man. He also recognized this type of man from his dream, one of the many that had been slaughtering the citizens of the city.

He quickly stepped behind the man, disarming his gun and throwing it into a pile of rubble. The man countered with punch but he dodges; "Too slo…," Fernando was stopped by a kicked to the stomach. Coughing out some blood, he flew into the ruins of a building close by.

'How did he do that? Not only is he fast but that strength, it's not human,' he thought to himself as he lay on the broken building. 'He can't be human, it's impossible for any human to have reflexes and strength like that, without showing much muscle. I won't be able to beat him.'

The man turned around, took out a small dagger and sliced both, woman and child, in their necks. With the blood still fresh on his blade, he walked over to Fernando, who still lying on the crumbling building.

"Now it's your turn," the man said, with the blood of the mother and child still fresh on his hands. He lifted the dagger up, but before he could put down, Fernando took out a small knife, hidden in the sleeve of his jacket, and jammed it right into the underside of this man's jaw.

"How could you have killed these people? They've done nothing to you. If I were to decide, I would say you would be the one to die here. NOW DIE," quickly taking the dagger from the man's hand, Fernando sliced off the man's head. He notices after slicing off the head, both the head and body turned into some kind of clear liquid. "So he wasn't human after all," he said, spitting out more blood. "Looks like it left me injured, too. Damn that sucks," the teen said, now looking at the two bodies of the people he failed to protect. "I'm sorry I could not protect you two. You did not deserve to die, if anyone in this city did, it would probably be me," he said as he rested and clutched his hurt abdomen. He then heard footsteps coming his way, they were approaching quickly.

'How do they know that he died so soon? Crap! If they're as strong and quick as he was, I'm going to be in a lot of hot water. I'm going to have to make a run for it,' Fernando said, struggling to his feet and trying run. But the men were already right behind him, and taking aim, as he swiftly rolled behind a building, knowing to stay out of the open.

'Crap! That damn kick hurt more than I thought. I can't run fast enough to lose them,' Fernando thought to himself as he tried to run but instead began limping.

'Then stop running,' he heard a voice in his head say, though the voice more or less sounded like a compilation of voices speaking in less than perfect unison.

'That's perfect, now I'm hearing voices in my head,' he thought.

'I'm not your insanity kicking, you jackass!' The voice said.

'Wow the little voice in my head just insulted me. Well then, screw you, voice,' he thought. 'Damn… I am going crazy… I'm insulting myself…'

'You're extremely ill-mannered, I hope you know that,' the voice responded.

'You insulted me first, and anyway, I'm not ill-mannered. I'm just kind of surprised to be hearing a voice in my head talking back to me,' Fernando directed his thoughts at the voice, still attempting to limping away.

'With that aside, you can't keep running forever. They'll eventually catch you,' the voice said, changing the subject back to the current situation.

'I probably should ignore you; you're just part of me going crazy. But…eh? What the hell? I'm most likely going to die anyways. So what do you have in mind, voice-in-my-head?' he thought.

'Stand and fight,' the voice said.

'See now I know I'm crazy. I barely took out one of those guys, and that was using a cheap trick. How am I supposed to kill a WHOLE SQUAD and AT THE SAME TIME!' he thought. Just then bullets fired from behind him grazed his leg. He tumbled over and dove toward an alley adjacent to him. With his leg injured, he knew that he would not be able to run any longer. Even worse the alley he entered was obstructed by fallen debris that blocked the other end, all there was in the alley were bits of trash, rubble, and the dark shadow of the destroyed buildings surrounding it.

"Damn! Dead end, no way in hell am I ever going to survive this. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide," Fernando said quietly to himself. He heard the squad's footsteps coming closer and closer.

'Then, are you ready to fight?' the voice came back.

'Looks like I have no other choice in the matter, huh?' he thought.

'Well then now that you've decided to stay and fight, I can help you,' the voice said. 'Step into the shadow of the building.'

'You're joking, right? They'll still be able to see me even if I do hide in the shadows. How is that going to help?' Fernando thought.

'You're very skeptical, aren't you?' the voice said, now sounding a little annoyed. 'Just do it.'

'For a voice, you are very bossy. Fine, whatever, I'll do it,' he thought, limping toward the shadow. He manages to fight through the pain long enough to make it, but in that moment, the men also showed up at the beginning of the alley. Catching a glimpse of him, they began firing round after round at him but to no avail. The shadows had already warped themselves around the teen; all bullets shot into them were absorbed and not a single one penetrated through. 'What's happening? Why are th…' unable to even complete his thought. The shadows tightened around him and dragged him under in an instant.

One of the men that had witnessed this pulled out a small communication device, speaking into it, he said, "Sir, we have found the one you have been looking for."

"Good, I'm sending someone over to help with the extermination of this little pest. I have other matters I have to attend to or I would go myself. Besides this death will be quite ironic," a voice in the radio had said right before a maniacal laugh.

"There is a problem. He managed to escape our sight. We don't really know his location at the moment," the man had responded back.

"I see," the man at the other end of the radio said. Putting it down, he gave his instructions to the teenage boy by him, "We at least know his general location, go now. Follow their directions to his location, find and kill him. We still have one more to find."

"Yes, sir," the boy responded.

"Oh, yes and make sure you kill that squad for losing him, after they show you his location. They are expendable anyway," the man dressed in white addressed to his servant.

"Consider it done," the boy said, before sinking into a patch of exposed dirt.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fernando had been sucked into a dark void, seemingly empty but it was so obscured by shadows, one could only guess it were empty. "Where am I?" he asked, he could hear the echo of his voice traveling through the endless dark.

"Don't worry, you're safe, nothing can touch you here. Although you can't stay here forever," the same voice from earlier now came through the shadows.

"What is place?" Fernando asked still in a little shock, although he found this place to be familiar and welcoming.

"You can call it whatever like. It really doesn't matter," the voice answered.

"Have you decided whether to live and fight or run and eventually die?" the voice brought up this question. "Being passive indecisive will kill you."

"I never wanted to choose to run. It's just that… I knew I could not beat them all. But if I had the power to, I would fight, fight until I could no longer fight," Fernando answered the questioned in complete honesty.

"So do you want it?" the voice asked.

"Want what?" the boy asked back.

"The power to be able to fight, to do what you want, whenever you wanted," the voice said. "We can grant you access the power but the question is: do you have the self-control to use it properly?"

"But what will I fight for? Just to live or will I revert back to the way I was, because I never want to go back to that, _never,_" he asked the voice.

"You will have to decide that for yourself. You already have the power, I can help unlock it and that is all I'm offering to do. But keep this in mind; you have not been paying for the powers you hold because you have yet to unleash them. But once you do, you have to pay the price for all those powers that reside within you. Nothing is free in this life, everything comes with a price. No matter how small or unnoticeable, everything does," the voice paused then continued, "you still want those powers or would you rather die? You can die, there would be no shame in it. No more responsibilities, no worries, no danger, what happens after you die would no longer be your problem," the voice asked him in an incredibly solemn tone.

"But what would I do with those powers? And why me? Why choose me? Why couldn't you give it to anyone else?" he asked the voice, sounding uncertain.

"Like I said, you have the powers already. I'm just here to help unlock them, nothing else. I'm not giving you anything and no one else has the power you do, so therefore I can only offer it to you. As for why you have the powers, I truly can't answer that but you'll find that out yourself. Along with these powers will come many things you may like or dislike but I can reveal no more. So what have you decided?" the voice asked once more.

"I guess it's pointless to try to get more information out of you, huh?" Fernando asked.

"After all that you still want more. God damn you're difficult to please," the voice complained.

"Well I am making an important decision that might change my life forever and feels like something from a movie or story. So I think I should know as much as I can before choosing," he answered wittingly.

"We both know which you will pick so you might as well choose now," the voice said. After a few minutes of complete and utter silence of floating in the dark void, it seemed that the teen had finally reached his decision.

"Well I think I have no other choice but to receive these powers. Dying seems a little boring for my tastes, the best things in life always come with a little risk," the boy finally answered.

"Ok then, but remember that there is always a choice in whatever happens to you. So you shouldn't be so quick to find no other option. And remember this as well, this was _your_ choice and now you must live with it. Just as I had said before, everything comes at a price," the voice sounded like it was drifting as it said this. The shadows once again entangled themselves around Fernando, but before completely being engulfed, he felt his wounds heal and saw a figure of a man, this man seemed erringly familiar.

He now found himself rising back onto the same alley he had left; the men were still there, waiting for their back-up. Upon seeing him though, they began to fire once again. Jumping from the floor to balcony of one the broken building, the unbelievable feat stunned the men with amazement, Fernando exclaimed, "This is incredible. I feel almost weightless when I move; I could never have imagined such power was inside me. Let's see what I can really do." Diving back down, he smashes the floor knocking over the entire squad. They stood no chance against him; he quickly destroyed the team within a matter of seconds. Smashing one against the adjacent wall, stomping on another's head while he still getting up off the floor, and rest were finished in similar styles. Almost immediately after, he thought he heard clapping coming from behind him. Turning around he saw none other than his friend, walking towards him from across the street.

"So looks like these guys were a little too easy for you, huh?" Tony said.

"You're still alive, huh? I thought you would have been caught because you're too curious for your own good," he responded. Then seeing some sort of shard fly at him, he dodged it with inhuman reflexes. Taking a closer look at his friend, he could see that he did not seem to be in his usual fun-loving mood, he had a serious look on his face. His eyes were not even the same; they were bordered by a rusty color. 'That is not Tony or at least he's not in control of what he's doing. I can just feel it! Something wrong with him and I have to snap him out of it before whatever he's doing kills me.'

'And so it begins!' the voice in the teen's head told him.

"Tony! Don't take another step towards me. Something wrong with you and I can't trust you right now," Fernando said, taking his Aikido stance.

"Ow, that really hurts. What kind of world is this where you can't even trust your best friend? Or is that evil that resides within you that's talking," Tony told him, stopping a few feet away.

'That doesn't even sound like him and what evil is he talking about?' Fernando thought to himself. "Snap out of it Tony, I don't want to have to do this but you know I will if I must."

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Tony responded, laughing. Tony lunged at Fernando who just barely dodged the blow, "I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU TRY!"

"I'm a more experienced fighter then you, Tony. You can't beat me at hand-to-hand combat," Fernando said, dodging every blow that came his way and delivering a few of his own. 'He was never this fast before, he is even faster than the men from the squad."

"Then I'll just have to use the powers the light has opened up for me to kill you," Tony said, jumping backwards. Then smashing the ground with his fists, he sent a barrage of rugged shard of earth flying at his so-called friend. Not fully being able to escape the shards, Fernando is left with a few cuts on his face.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" he yelled in complete disbelief of what just hit him.

"I have powers over the earth and rocks. There's no point in explaining it to you though, you won't live long enough to get anything out of it," Tony said, smashing the ground once more and creating a massive rocky pillar to form underneath Fernando and carry him into the air. Crashing back down to the street, he stood back up.

"ARGH! What's this pain in my head again? And now my eyes, they're burning. I can't stand it. ARGH!" he said, falling to his knees.

"Then I'll end the pain for you!" Tony yelled, stepping closer ready to finish him off.

"Hahahaha, you can't kill me. I'm no longer that weakling that doesn't know how use this power properly, he was going easy on you just because you _were _an ally. I live for the thrill of the kill and the longer the fight, and the stronger my opponent, the more entertaining the kill becomes. These hands… they were made to reap the lives of others," Fernando said standing up, both his eyes now the same crimson red as before. An evil grin coming over his face and the look in his eyes stunned Tony in fear."Why aren't you moving? You're making this fight so boring. What happened to all that talk, huh? Can't you back it up or are you too scared? You shouldn't be. You know what's coming, no mystery there."

He then punched Tony in the chest with such unbelievable strength; Tony was able to feel his bones break before being launched into the air. Appearing right behind him, Fernando kicked him down with amazing force. Creating a huge crater in the crash, Tony bounced off the floor, coughing up blood. And before even touching the floor a second time, he is punched against it, making the crater even deeper.

Jumping to the top of the crater, he looked back down to the pathetic, bloody sight that used to be an arrogant opponent, "You're not the only one who can manipulate an element." Creating a black claw out of his hand from the shadow of the crater underneath, he rushed down where Tony struggled to stand back up. A bloody mess, he could not react in any other way but to create a rip in the dimension in front of him. "What?" the crazed teen yelled before being sucked into the vortex. Blood leaked out of him like water from a faucet; the bloody and beaten teen, left alonem fainted from the loss of blood.


	3. A Fateful Meeting

**A Fateful Meeting**

**AN:** Yup, yet another revision. Sorry still for the continuous delay for the next chapter, I promise I will post it by this weekend. But till then, enjoy this revised chapter... or hate me for not posting the new one. Whichever bides me more time to write the next chapter. And, once again, Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Fernando stared out into an endless void, not the same place from before, but almost as if he was unconscious, but yet aware of it. He thought about what the voice's warning, it echoed in his head, "Everything comes with a price." It felt like an eternity before he heard something other than this statement; he finally heard what seemed to him like a girl's voice.

"Are you okay?" a feminine voice spoke to him, soft and nice.

"Come on leave him alone! We're gonna be late, Orihime," he heard another girl's voice; this one seemed to be a little irritated and much harsher.

"But Tatsuki, he might need some help. Look he has a cut on his face," the first girl spoken again. Fernando regained the ability to open his eyes. He was blinded by the bright sunlight and only saw the blurry figure of a girl crouched down in front of him. Eventually his eyes adjusted to the light and he regained his sight.

'How long have I been out? Damn, I can't feel my legs, are they asleep?' he thought to himself. His mind was in a frenzy of confusion and questions as the girl looked straight into his eyes.

"Hey! You're awake!" the girl exclaimed with a smile.

"Umm… Hello?" Fernando responded confusedly. He looked around and found that he was sitting at the base of a tree. It also seemed that he was no longer in the dead city he had been fighting his friend in; he was now in a peaceful town, with birds chirping and sun shining brightly.

"There! He's awake, that's good enough. Now can we go?" said the impatient girl standing on the sidewalk. She appeared very bothered by just his presence. Both girls were teenagers about his age and wearing the same outfit he suspect to be a school uniform.

Trying to stand up back up, Fernando finds his legs were in fact asleep. Nearly falling, he grabbed onto the girl's shoulder for support. This angered the already irritated girl very much. She punched him in his face so hard that he hit his head against the tree behind him and she thought she had already beaten him, with a single punch.

"Oh, how nice and not to mention totally called for," Fernando said with unbelievably sarcasm in his voice. "Sorry about that, miss…" he whispered to the girl in front but was caught off guard by yet another strong punch to the face. Then Tatsuki went for a third one, but this time, he saw it coming. He dodged and observed the combination she sent at him, he found the style she was using. "So you know Karate, huh?"

She paused for a second, "How do you know?"

Taking the same stance as Tatsuki, "I know Karate as well. How do you think I could dodge all of your blows? Except the first two and those were really strong punches." He spat out some blood, "I wish had, though. You have a very good form and your technique is incredible. But I know six different types of martia…" he told her right before falling to his knees. "Well that's not good. My legs gave out, they must still be partially asleep," he thought out loud as he rubbed his legs. "Do you really want to continue? Because I don't, I'm not supposed to hit a woman. I'm supposed to be following a code of chivalry, according to Shinshyu at least," Fernando said, getting up.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you touched Orihime," Tatsuki yelled, charging at him. Giving a sigh, he dodged her attacks once again, but this time he gave her a small poke with his finger right beside her neck. Catching her before she fell to the ground, he carried her back to the tree where the first girl had been watching the entire time.

"Wow! You beat Tatsuki! That was amazing; I never saw Tatsuki get beat in a fight. You must be really tough, you were like," Orihime said as she repeated his dodging motion from the fight. "And she was like," she copied Tatsuki's punching and kicking.

"Yeah sorry about earlier, I was going to fall and grabbed onto something so I wouldn't," Fernando said shyly. "Sorry, I'm not much of talker. I'm not very open to strangers."

"That's okay… Tatsuki? Are you okay?" Orihime asked her unconscious friend.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything fatal. I just hit a point on her neck where it would basically make her faint, I didn't hit it too hard I'll give her maybe twenty minutes at most of being knocked out," Fernando told her, sitting back down at the base of the tree.

"But we got to get to school," Orihime said, trying to drag Tatsuki's body behind her.

'Damn you, Shinshyu,' he thought to himself. "Here, I'll help. It is kind of my fault anyway." He picked up Tatsuki's unconscious body, "So where are you headed?"

"Come on, just follow me," Orihime said, taking the lead.

"Can you tell me where we are? I don't really know," he asked her as they walked.

"You really aren't from here, are you? This Karakura Town," Orihime responded, still smiling.

"Karakura Town? Umm...What country?" Fernando questioned her.

She gave a small giggle, "Japan, kind of weird that you don't even know where you are."

'JAPAN! HOW IN HELL'S NAME DID I END UP IN JAPAN? Wait; if I'm in Japan wouldn't they be speaking in Japanese. Damn, I so confused. What about introductions, how do I introduce myself if I don't know Japanese? Wait, how does she understand me if I don't? Wait, Shinshyu told me some information about Japanese customs; let's hope I can remember them. Okay let's start with the names; I remember something about the names being reversed because the family is more important than the individual. Let's see what else had she told me?' he kept thinking as he walked along with Orihime. 'Damn, can't remember anything else. No shoes indoors. Where else did I learn about the Japanese? Those anime we used to watch! What were in them? I'm too jumpy right now; I can't remember a single thing. I have to calm down.' As he gave a deep breath, Orihime began to wonder about this newcomer.

"What's your name?" She asked him with the smile still on her face.

'Lucky I remembered that much, I don't want to look too out of place,' he thought. "My name is Kurokishi Fernando. So what is your name?"

"I'm Inoue Orihime and she's Arisawa Tatsuki. So where are you from?" she asked him.

"Well I'm actually from America, the U.S. to be more precise," he answered quietly.

"You're not from here after all but your Japanese is so good. How long were studying Japanese? And how come you have a Japanese last name? And why are you here?" Orihime asked excitedly.

"That's kind of getting a little too personal," he told her still in his quiet voice, mostly as a lie, not knowing the answers to some of her questions. 'Wait, did she just say I'm speaking Japanese, since when did I learn Japanese?' She giggled again, which just made him question her, "What are you laughing at?"

"You're so shy," she told him.

'Not only that but also completely confused,' he thought to himself. "I guess I am. Like I said before I don't talk to too many people, didn't have many friends either," he said sadly. Realizing he said more than he wanted to, he stayed quiet the rest of the walk. They finally reached the school; it seemed that Tatsuki was waking up. He handed Tatsuki over to Orihime, "Here, looks like she actually waking up earlier than I thought."

Tossing Tatsuki's arm over her neck, she help Tatsuki get to her feet. 'Got to leave and figure out what to do. And how I got here,' Fernando thought to himself. Remembering about his new abilities, he also thought, 'Wow I think I could have carried them both here by jumping from rooftop to rooftop, would have been much faster. But it might have freaked them out to see someone able to do those kinds of things from T.V. in real life. I know it did to me and I still can't believe it.' Jumping to a nearby roof, he finished his thoughts, 'But it doesn't make it any less true.'

"Hey, thank y…" Orihime looked back but saw no one standing there. "Umm… Where'd he go?"

Now mostly awake, Tatsuki quickly got back on her feet. "Where is he? I'll kick his ass this time around," she said, fuming. Then noticing that she somehow made it to her destination, she asked, "Hey, how'd we get to school?" Both were a little dumbfounded at the mysterious encounter with the boy they had just met but there was no longer any time to think about this as the bell just rang, signaling all students to report to class.

* * *

"Now, okay, if I remember correctly. I woke up at the base of this tree, in the middle of Japan, apparently," Fernando said to himself, standing at the base of the tree. "What is the last thing I can remember that happened before waking up here?" He sat and began to meditate at the base of the tree, remembering the chase and the fight with the strange men, it started becoming harder to recall events that came just afterword. "Then Tony came, I think. He said something, hit the ground and then…" he began to recall his memory of the fight but a painful headache began to ensue. He spent what seemed like hours trying to recollect happened just after. "Something sliced my face and then," trying to dig deeper began to result in huge amounts of pain to his head. He was forced to stop meditating, not only because the pain became too much to bear, but also because he had felt a small nudge against his shoulder. Opening one eye, he sees someone to his side, gently nudging his shoulder.

It was a small girl, she looked a bit nervous to talk to him, "H-h-hello, mister."

"Don't call me that, I'm not that old yet, kid," he told the girl, making her more reluctant to talk. "You wanted something from me?"

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up, mister," the girl said very shyly. "I just need some help and you're the only grown-up around."

"Don't worry I wasn't sleeping, just doing a little meditating," he told the girl, getting up and dusting himself off. Now smiling down at the girl and patting her head, "What is it you need help on?"

The girl began to blush, "Well, my cat got stuck up in the tree and I need to get him back. But the tree is too big for me to climb; can you get my cat down, please mister?"

"That's a little cliché, isn't it? And I told you to not call me… Ah whatever. Where is the tree he's stuck on?" he asked the girl, stretching a bit. The girl pointed to huge tree to the side of the small park, "How did your cat get stuck up there?" He saw the small white cat at the top of the tree. He took off his jacket, not wanting it to get caught on any of the branches on the way up. "Okay here it goes," he said, trying to leap to the branch with the cat on it in one jump. Unfortunately, with too many branches in the way, he hit his head and fell all the way back down. "Well that wasn't too smart on my part," he said, standing back up and dusting himself off.

"Are you okay mister?" the girl asked, sounding concern.

"Don't worry about me. I've fallen plenty of times, I'm used to it," he answered. "Although, it does still hurt. Maybe jumping from branch to branch might help instead of just one huge leap." Trying out his new strategy, he managed to get half way up but one of the braches was too delicate and gave out beneath his weight. Thanks to his newly improved reflexes, he grabbed onto a nearby branch and sprang himself up towards the cat. Snatching it off the branch, he jumped off the tree to avoid hitting any limbs on the way down. The cat thanked him with a lick to the cheek before he handed the small pet back to its owner.

"That was amazing, mister. But why didn't you climb it normally?" the girl asked, smiling. The teen just pouted to himself, knowing that he was never very good at climbing. "Thanks, mister. You're really nice but you look really lost. How come you're all alone? You don't have any friends at all?"

"Usually, you shouldn't judge by appearances but in this case, yeah, I'm lost. I'm pretty much on my own for now, kid. And you're welcome," he said.

"Well maybe you should smile some more, maybe you can get some friends to help you then. Well thanks again, mister. Bye-bye," the girl ran away and also faded away.

"Huh? That was a little strange. Was she a ghost or a mirage or something?" he questioned himself, which only led to more confusion. Giving a deep sigh, he continued to talk to himself, "Well now it's time to focus on how to get back home? But the problem is I don't even know how I got here." He then heard stomach starting to grumble, "And I'm sooo hungry." Grabbing his jacket and putting it back on, he walked over to the tree he had been sitting at nearly the entire day and took his seat once again. "Great! Now what am I going to do? I'm going to starve and it's already afternoon. I don't even have any money to exchange it for some Japanese money to buy something and it's starting to drizzle," he said to himself, looking at his empty wallet. He looked up at the sky that was now filled with grey clouds that were causing the rain drops, "I blame Tony!"

Just as he lost all hope of getting any food, he heard a familiar voice, "Hey there," he looked down and discovered Orihime running towards him. Accidently slipping on the wet grass, she began to slide.

"This is not going to end well," he said as he saw her slide towards him but being too lazy to once again get up, just sat there watched her slide at him. Sighing again, he braced himself for the impact and closed his eyes. Although he predicted the impact was inevitable, he did not foresee what was going to impact him where. Her chest had collided with his head, and this was also the same moment he noticed her busty chest. This caught him completely off guard; he did not know what to do. Instead of moving, he gained a nervous twitch.

Picking herself up, she apologized, "I'm sorry, just kind of clumsy I guess." She laughed then she saw him gain a nose bleed, thinking this was an injury from the clash, she apologized even more, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It was all my fault for running while the grass was wet."

The blood poured out rapidly, not because of any injury as Fernando knew. It was his own perverted teenage boy mind causing the blood to run. Relieved to know that Orihime did not recognize this, he wiped the blood off using a tissue from inside his jacket. But he was still incredibly embarrassed at the little position he had been in moments ago and his face was still red. "N-n-no problem, no major damage," he told her, trying to calm her down.

"Let me make it up to you, come back to my house. You don't have anywhere to stay, do you? We can have dinner and talk some more," she suggested gleefully.

'H-h-her house,' the same perverted thoughts had re-entered his mind; a second blood vessel broke in his nose. 'Damn it, it's all Tony's fault for me being all perverted. He was always the pervert and now some of his perverseness stuck to me.'

"Are you sure you're okay?" Orihime asked, seeing the second nose bleed start.

"I-I-I couldn't, it would be rude of me," he told her, trying to find an excuse.

"Come on, it be fun. I'm inviting so it's not rude," Orihime said, smiling at him.

Fernando found himself checking her out, her lips, her chest, her hips, all these things filling his mind with so many sexual ideas that he finally caved-in. "Okay," he said, defeated, hanging his head in shame.

As they walked, the rain began pouring down harder. He noticed that she had neither jacket nor umbrella; sighing once again, knowing what he was about to do was a little strange for two people have barely met to be doing. He took off his jacket and handed to her, "Here, you'll get sick walking through this rain."

"It's alright, I'm tough, I won't get sick that easily," she said as enthusiastically as ever.

"Better safe than sorry, I'm a man therefore I have to show women courtesy and consideration," he said in a very low tone, having had this engraved into his mind by his mother. Taking the coat from him, Orihime felt the coat's tough exterior but as she slipped it on, she felt the warm and soft interior. It fit her a bit big; some of it dragged on the wet sidewalk.

"Umm… is it okay that it's getting wet and dragged?" Orihime asked trying to lift it up.

"Don't worry about, it's custom made just for me. It's very tough material and also waterproof, there is almost no way it can rip," he said, trying to get used to the feeling of not wearing his jacket. 'Great now my hair is all messed up,' he thought, sighed some more and looked up at the sky.

"You don't like when it rains?" Orihime asked, looking up at him.

"No, I actually do. It's just I've never been in rain without my jacket. I'm so used to that it feels strange without it," he answered her. "It looks kind of funny on you, though. The sleeves are too big and the bottom dragging, but I hope it is keeping you dry. If you want, there's hood hidden behind the collar," Fernando said reaching for it, he popped up the collar and sure enough there it was, he unwrapped it and dropped it over her head. "It's waterproof, too."

They finally arrived at an apartment complex. "Okay we're here," she said, running up the stairs and to a door.

Fernando followed slowly behind, 'I'm still not too sure about this but I have nowhere else to turn to and it's raining as well. If I don't spend the night here then I'll have to sleep in the rain and get sick. I really can't afford to get sick right now, I have to find out how I got here and how to get back, if I can.' "Are you sure that you parents don't mind me staying here with you?"

"I live by myself, I told you I'm tough, and I've been living by myself for years. But Tatsuki always comes to visit, she sleeps over a lot, too," Orihime said.

"Wow, you are tough. Didn't think that someone like you would live alone, not that you're weak or anything, just I could see that you love to talk and be social," he thought out loud. She just smiled at the compliment as she opened the door and ran in as quickly as he had ever seen her. Fernando stepped in as well. Closing the door behind him, he sat and began to take off his boots. He looked around and could see all the decorations and pictures of friends. He explored the apartment a bit until his laziness got the better of him. The foreign teen just stood, not knowing where to sit because he saw no chairs, only small pillows near a table. She then came rushing back with a towel and handed it to him

"Time for dinner! You're going to stay for the night, right?"Orihime asked him.

"Wait if you…," he tried to tell her something but it was already too late. She rushed out of sight once more. As he dried off, he noticed another change in him, his sense of smell had ridiculously increased. He could smell the scent of his hostess as she left and it lingered throughout the apartment. The smell only made him feel more awkward for staying here, he actually liked her scent. 'Why me?'

After waiting for a little more than half an hour, she returned with a plate filled with strange looking food. He shrugged and gave the food a taste as he thought to himself, 'Doesn't look half as bad as some foods I've tried.' He actually enjoyed the food's taste, amazingly. As both started eating the food together, he found that she had as big an appetite as he did, that left him amazed because she did not look like she had an ounce of fat on her bones.

"I'm happy that you like my cooking, Tatsuki usually says that it looks weird and sometimes doesn't want to eat," Orihime said, smiling happy to see that someone appreciated her culinary efforts.

"Well half of cooking is experimenting, and it looks like you're good at it. I was going offer to cook for you, I technically am a good enough chef to be certified and work as one in almost any restaurant I want," he said, trying to force himself to talk.

Her eyes lit up and she became even more interested in her new guest, she surprised him with her sudden burst, "What do you know how cook? Where did you learn to cook? Who taught you? Can you make something right now? What's your favorite thing to cook?" He withdrew a little, trying to move away from her excitement. "Sorry, I just got a little over excited," she apologized, though she remained in her hyperactive state.

"No, I'm sorry, I've been always was a lone wolf. There only two people I ever really talked to. It's a little hard to open up," he said, trying to remember her questions. "I know how to cook Japanese dishes, Russian soups, American foods, Spanish dishes, and my favorite type to cook is Italian pastas and meats. I think I could cook some cakes and cookies and other sweets as well."

"Can you make something right now?" she said, imagining all sorts of fabulous, foreign dishes in her mind.

"Well I think it's a late for me to cook anything, the dishes I make take some time to make and cook but I can assure you that you'll love them. Most people do," he said quietly, still nervous for being alone with a girl for the first time.

"Tomorrow then?" she asked, anxious to taste the foods he can make. He nodded, she moved closer to him. He tried backing away but she kept coming. He began panicking, she laughed as she told him, "You're so shy. Why are you backing away?"

He knew that she was not doing anything awkward but he felt the awkwardness still, he did not want to think the way he was thinking about her. "I've always been alone, I'm so used to it that I don't know how else to act. I don't know what friends are supposed to do and your kind of the first girl I've ever really talk to like this."

"Friends are supposed to have fun with each other and get to know each other I just wanted to get a better look at you," Orihime said.

"Well you could just ask me anything you want to know," he said.

"Are you that scared of getting to be friends with anybody?" she asked, with the same smile still on her face.

"Well it's only because you're a girl and I'm a boy, it's a little weird for us to be so close to each other," he explained. She sat next to him, he, giving up resisting any longer, did not move, just sighed. "Well there you go, what did you want see about me so badly?"

"Your eyes, they're silvered, that's so cool. You know they say that the eyes are the window to your soul, and yours look very sad," she said, staring into his eyes.

He looked back into hers, "Yours are brown, pretty normal. Sorry, not very good at reading eyes myself. Is that all you wanted to know?" She was still staring at his eyes, her mouth agape, "Yo, Orihime, you there?" She was still spaced out then, suddenly, she punched him in the face. She continued to punch in random direction, until she finally snapped back to reality. He beat her to the apology, "It's all right. No harm done, again."

She laughed, "Sorry, I sometimes space out just lost in my imagination."

"Happens to me too, don't worry about. You're really different, you know that? Not like anyone I ever met, but yet…" he yawned, getting tired from all the food they had eaten.

"Oh, let me get you something to sleep on," she rushed once more.

A sweat drop formed in back of his head, 'Where does she get all her energy from? I'm getting tired just watching.'

"Here you go," she said as she spread out a mat across the floor. "Maybe in the morning we can talk some more."

"Yeah, maybe," Fernando said, taking off his pants. "Oh you're still here, aren't you?" Orihime just stood there watching, once again spaced out. 'Wow this girl is really absent minded. Well I am too but I at least listen to Shinshyu.' "Orihime? Maybe you should get to bed too. Isn't it a school day tomorrow?"

"You're right," she said, quickly regaining her consciousness. She hurried away to hall, he heard a door shut and now felt safe.

He laughed a little, 'At least she's funny, but kind of oblivious to sexual things. I wish I could be like her but Tony destroyed my innocence from sex. I wonder if Shinshyu and Tony are safe or is Tony still being controlled? I can't remember what happen after our fight, so it might be just wishful thinking.' He lay down on the mat, wondering about his new friend, 'She's nice, beautiful, and very cheerful. I wonder why we met, though. What were the chances of finding a girl like this that would take me in? It was more than coincidence, I know that, just too suspicious to be coincidence.'

'Maybe it was fate that you met this girl. There are no coincidences in this life; you came here because fate brought you here. Fate had you meet her,' the voice from before had returned.

'So you're telling me I have no control over my life, fate controls everything?' he thought.

'But what if you had not chosen to take the power I offered you. You wouldn't be here, would you? It's part of the effects of when you made your choice, that's all I can give you for now. Maybe we'll talk some more later," the voice said.

'Okay, so long, voice in my head,' he told the voice, thinking that he was still crazy. The storm was starting to pick up outside, Fernando heard the thunder and saw the lightning. 'Sounds like it is getting pretty bad.'


	4. Compromise

**Compromise**

**AN:** Yo, sorry about this but I made a wee bit of mistake. In this chapter, I accidentally put he had been adopted **a** year, it was supposed to be 4 years sorry about that. Please continue to Read, Review and Enjoy. I'll be putting this into the author's note of Chapter 8 too for anyone else who did not read this author's note, please ignore it if you read this.

Fernando still asleep but once again conscious of it, could hear a voice in his head but this one sounded more like his own. "Hmph… Weakling! You don't what it takes to use these powers. Come on give me control, I'll put these powers to their maximum potential, then we'll have unbelievable fun," his voice said, followed by a cynical laugh.

"Control of what?" he asked.

"Of our body of course, who do you think help you to defeat your old friend? You certainly couldn't do it yourself so I stepped in, I wasn't about to die because of a weakling like yourself," his voice responded.

"Who are you? Where are you?" he questioned the now more evil sounding voice.

"What do you mean? I'm you," the voice said, now becoming a clear figure in front of Fernando. He was shocked to see himself standing before him, almost as if looking into a mirror. "I've always been here in your mind, body, and soul, all along. Every person has a demon inside them but some people's demons are more powerful than others but because of what you are, you can't control me, I will always be here. So just give me control, don't make this hard on yourself, literally," he laughed.

The other him lifted his hands, Fernando noticed that they were blood-stained, but the blood from his hands began to form a wave of blood heading straight to him. Lifting up his own hands almost as if to protect himself, a wall of darkness managed to stop the wave of blood.

"You're lucky, their protecting you for now. But when they realize that I am stronger, they'll give control to me," his mirror image said.

"This…This is my body and won't let anyone control it but me," Fernando said, clenching his teeth.

"For now…. For now, but just you wait. It will be mine someday," his cynical laugh started again.

The next moment, he had awakened to the apartment he had fallen asleep in. It was morning, barely after dawn. "Was it…. all a dream?" he asked himself. He heard the same laugh seemingly out of nowhere. "What's happening to me? What am I?"

Later that morning, Orihime had finally awakened to the sounded of her alarm clock. With a yawn, she exited her room. Still a little drowsy, stumbled her way to the seating room where her guest had slept. He was gone, the mat neatly folded to side and the window open. "Did he leave?" she yawned in disappointment for she could no longer taste the fabulous foods that the boy had promised. Suddenly the smell of eggs, pancakes, and some sort of meat had filled her nose, waking her up in an instant.

She followed the scent to her small kitchen, where she found her guest rushing around it. Rushing from the stove to a bowl set aside, he was a flash in the kitchen. She couldn't even follow if she wanted. Going unnoticed, she managed to catch a glimpse at a small black book on the counter. Searching through it, she read ingredients and steps on how to cook countless number of different foods.

Fernando had finally noticed her but luckily for him not long enough to notice that she had nothing but her small pajamas on. "Good morning, Orihime," he greeted her, surprisingly to her, he was smiling. She had not seen her guest smile since she met him. "The food will be ready soon. By the time you're done getting dressed it should be ready." He went back to his cooking before she cold reply.

A little after Orihime finished dressing, she discovered Fernando had already been waiting for her the set on the table. For some reason, he put his coat back on, this confused her. "Are you cold?" she asked.

"No, not really," he simply answered, still reluctant to talk.

She sat at the table, "How come you have your coat on?"

"I always wear this coat no matter where I go," he told her.

"Why?" she continued to question.

'This girl… she asks so many question,' he thought to himself. "It… was a gift from Shinshyu."

"Who's Shinshyu?" she asked.

He sighed, "She is my master… and adopted mother."

"You're an…" Orihime did not get to finish her sentence, interrupted by a knock on her door.

It was none other than Tatsuki, "Good morning, Orihime. Are you ready to h-h-h…!"

She caught a glimpse of Fernando sitting at the table stuffing his face with food, "YOU!"

"Yo," was all he was able to get out between a swallow followed by more face stuffing.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she yelled.

"Sitting….eating," he said swallowing the bit of food on his plate.

Annoyed with his smart-assed attitude, she tried to kick him but he already expected this from her, not dodging this time but countering. Twirling her by her leg and letting her go, she hit the floor. "I thought you didn't hit women," she said, getting up.

"Correction, I said I'm not supposed to, never said I don't and technically the floor hit you, so yeah…" he said, getting up himself and picking up his dishes.

"He beat you again, Tatsuki," Orihime commented.

"Not for long," Tatsuki said to herself quietly. She rushed at him while he walked through the hall. He tried to dodge her but unfortunately, the hall was too narrow hit the wall and bounced against it. Even more unfortunate for him, Tatsuki underestimated the height of her kick and it went straight toward his groin.

A single tear dripped from his eye, "Nice kick, there goes my chances of having children."

"Umm… Tatsuki, I think you won this time," Orihime said, looking at her guest on floor, holding onto his groin.

"Hmph… serves him right," she puffed.

"Well he did make breakfast; he isn't as bad as you think, Tatsuki," Orihime told her friend as she sat down to eat. She gave the food a taste, amazed by the first bite, she began to gulp up the eggs, bacon, and pancake happily. "Come on Tatsuki, try some, it's so good."

"Quite an appetite on her, huh?" Fernando asked, already over the pain.

"Hmph," Tatsuki puffed.

"Okay just trying to be friendly, but to tell the truth, I could care less," he sighed, sitting in a corner of the room.

"Come on Orihime, we're gonna be late for school," Tatsuki said, staring down the strange boy in the corner.

"Okay Tatsuki," Orihime said, finishing her own food. Then quickly grabbing her small book bag, heads towards the door but before leaving, gives her guest a small bit of advice, "You should take tour of Karakura. It'll keep you busy."

Tatsuki gave him her own advice, "You better be gone by the time, I get back or else."

'Damn, miss short temper calm the hell down,' Fernando thought to himself. After they had left, he tumbled in his head whether or not to give the town a look around or stay in the apartment and laze around but not wanting be there whenever Tatsuki comes around, had decided to scope out this small town.

Taking a jump out the window to insure that the apartment secure, with the door locked closed, he begins his own tour around Karakura. First trying from roof to roof, Fernando discovers his luck when first trying this; he undershoots his target and crashes right into the building, promptly falling back down. "Ow."

At this point, he no longer wanted to hurt himself so he decided to simply walk through the town. Walking for about an hour, he finds himself lost in a small alleyway. "Well… This is discouraging," he sighed. Continuing down the alley, he finds a large clearing with a small shop-looking building. "What's this place?" he asked himself. He then heard a conversation, quickly hiding himself; he sees two small children sweeping inside, one a red headed boy, the other, a black haired girl.

The boy was resting his head on his broom, he sighed, "Why do we gotta clean up anyway? No one ever comes to the shop anyway, there's no point."

Suddenly, a giant man appeared from inside the shop, he sported a handle bar mustache, corn-rolled hair and muscle shirt under a blue apron. "Did you say something bad about the shop, JINTA?"

Clearly being scared of this man, the boy said panicky, "No, I didn't say anything Tessai, I swear." The giant turned around and looked at the girl who was just holding her broom and staring straight out. The boy began to stare at her as well. "Ururu, hello? You there?"

"She might be sensing some kind of Reiatsu around," the giant said.

"I don't feel anything," the boy said, confused.

"She might be going into…" the giant didn't manage to finish his sentence.

"An intruder," the girl said monotonously. She rushed in at a blinding speed towards Fernando.

"Wait how does she kno..." he said before feeling a small hand strangling his throat. She was floating in mid air, her hand gripping his throat with bone crushing force. 'Can't… breathe.' He struggled to get out of her hold but it proved futile, she had him and she was not letting go.

"The intruder…" she seemed confused as she said this. She examined him, almost trying to make something out. "You… are not a threat." She still seemed confused about his danger level.

At this point he was gasping for air, he was starting to black out, he gasped out in a whisper, "Please let go, I-I can't breathe."

"He is no danger," the girl said before falling unconscious. Fernando rested on the floor, on his hands and knees, coughing and gasping for air. All of a sudden, he was in the back of his head with a large metal club of some sort, it was the boy wielding it.

Waking up, Fernando discovered he had been put in small, dark room. His head was aching and he could feel the bit of blood that dried in the back of his head. He tried to move his arms only to discover that he could not, it was almost as if he was tied up but he could not feel any type of restraints. His eyes eventually adjusted to the dark and he was able to see the silhouettes of people behind a thin, sliding door. He then heard footsteps, like wooden sandals against the wooden floor. A man wearing a green jacket, strange red and white striped hat, and wooden sandals, walked in. Turning on the light, he yawned as he noticed the boy on the floor. Too tired to care he just yawned more, walked toward the table and sat.

"You're not going to do anything?" Fernando asked.

"No, too tired," the man yawned. They both sat in silence, one too lazy to talk, the other too mad. Fernando continued to struggle to get free but nothing he did seemed to work. "It's not going to work they got you in Bakudo #1: Sai. You can break unless you have enough Reiryoku, which I doubt you have," he yawned, lying down.

"What are you talking about? I just want to get out of here," Fernando said, still struggling. His anger rising, his eyes began to fill with the same red tinge as before. Sensing something amiss, the man stopped him before anyone else could sense the sudden surge in power.

"Now, now, no need to lose your temper," he patted his guest's head. Calming down, the red tinge receded but the surge in power did not. "So, you want to get out of that that badly?"

"Yes!" Fernando shouted.

"Let's make a little deal, I'll get you out if you work for me and don't worry I'll also train you," the man said, giving a wicked smile.

"What kind of deal is that? Train me for what? Why do you want to train me?" Fernando asked angrily.

"You have something I've never seen before. You can take it or leave it; I just want to see how far you could go. But I could use another person to help clean the shop. So do we have a deal?" the man asked, turning around.

"I still don't understand why you want to train me, just let me go!" the teen yelled.

"Well there's my own interests and then there's that you know too much already and we would have to kill you if we let you go, so interested?" the blond man asked.

"Do I even have a choice?" the teen sighed. "Fine."

"You can start today, let's shake on it," the man said, then noticing' he could not move his arms, he began to laugh.

'Bastard,' Fernando thought to himself. "Can you get me out now?" Making a quick slash with his hand between the boy's wrists, Fernando can feel arms are free. "If I'm going to working for you, I should know your name. Mine is Kurokishi Fernando."

"Well, then, mine is Urahara Kisuke. You know that I was just kidding about the killing you part so if you want to leave, you can," the man introduced himself.

Fernando shook his head, "I made a promise, once you make one you cannot turn back from it. It's one of the morals I live by."

"Hmm… pretty responsible for a reckless teenager," Urahara shrugged.

"HA! YES! A new worker means less work for me!" the red headed boy entered the room from eavesdropping via the door.

"Jinta, you don't have to be rude," the pig-tailed girl said.

"Kisuke, are you seriously training this boy?" the giant from before said.

Urahara nodded, "Well, if he decides to take it but first… introductions. I think you heard his name through the wall, now your turns to introduce yourselves."

The giant went first, "I am Tsukabishi Tessai, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Fernando returned the polite greeting.

"I'm…" the girl began but the red headed boy stopped her, rudely pushing her out of the way.

"I'm Hanakari Jinta," the boy pointed at himself with his dumb. Ignoring the boy for his rude behavior, he walked towards the girl giving her hand to her feet. This struck her with an uncanny memory of her boss's own politeness and kindness towards her

Accepting his hand up, she bowed, "Thank you, my name is Tsumugiya Ururu."

"They all work in my shop. Ok, now time for the fun part," Urahara interrupted the introductions, an evil glare in his eyes, "Time to break-in the new employee. Jinta, I'll leave this to you."

"Where are _you_ going?" Jinta demanded.

"Back to sleep," his employer yawned.

"What kind of shop owner are you? How are you supposed to sell anything if you spend most of the day asleep?" the boy yelled.

Tessai rushed towards him, in a threatening voice, he tells Jinta, "Are you questioning Kisuke's business strategies?" The young boy yelped, terrified by this giant. "I will be in the kitchen if anyone needs me," Tessai walked in toward the back of the shop.

Both kids now examined their new co-worker, Jinta quickly devised a scheme. "Ok, since Mr. Urahara put me in charge of you, you have to do everything I say!" the boy announced.

"Uh-huh," Fernando replied, uninterested. "It'll take more than anything you can dish out to break me." Taking him just outside, he ordered the teen to sweep the shop and he complied. "Oh man, this is sweet! He's doing all my work!" he cheered to himself.

"Jinta, those are your chores," Ururu complained.

Jinta began pulling at her pig-tails, "Hey just be glad you're not doing them, Ururu."

Fernando stopped his bullying and began some of his own, grabbing Jinta's hands and hitting him with him with them. "Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself," only doing this a couple of times until he decided it was enough.

"Just for that, you're going to have to sweep the whole shop!" Jinta yelled.

"Alright but like I said, there's no way you can break me," Fernando responded.

"Doesn't look like it," Urahara said to himself, overhearing their conversation from inside.

After hours of work, Urahara finally reemerged from his supposed slumber.

"You can go," he smiled happily, seeing his shop nice and tidy. "But it is very important that you tell no one about what happened to you here, understand?"

'Go where, though? I don't whether or not I can back to Orihime's. I think it would be rude of me to ask her for a place to stay, not to mention Tatsuki, and it looks like these people are already too crowded,' he sighed as he thought to himself. 'I might as well wait there, see if I could stay there a little longer maybe Urahara can help me get back to where I belong. He seems to know more than he's leading on.' Walking out of his strange new place of employment, he looked back, 'There's something weird about that place and something weirder about the people in it. Looks like I've gotten myself into something deep and I know I'm going to regret it.'

Seeing him the shop, Jinta asked his boss, "Why are you so interested in him?"

"Hmmm... I haven't got the slightest clue just but something about that kid seems different, almost something familiar... Don't you agree, Ururu?" Urahara asked the girl.

"He's like you," Ururu replied.

"Hmph... I doubt that. I and he are completely different, he's nothing like me but I believe he'll want to become someone like me after a while," Urahara confidently said.

"Or someone even more different," Jinta responded.

"The boy is too serious," Tessai added to the conversation.

"I hope you know that I can hear you!" Fernando yelled back.

A sweat drop formed in back all four of their heads, "He has good hearing," Urahara whispered.

"Still heard that!" the teen yelled almost out of the alley.

Waiting for someone to arrive, Fernando laid on his back on the roof of the apartment complex. Taking a nap using the hood of his coat as a pillow, he did not notice the hours that pass by. He felt a rock hit his legs, which dangled off the roof. Waking up, his eyes adjusted to the light of the setting sun, he saw it was both Orihime and Tatsuki.

"Hey what do you think you're doing here!" Tatsuki yelled angrily.

"Just wondering if I could stay another night," Fernando replied, lying back down.

"WAIT! HE STAYED WITH YOU YESTERDAY?" Tatsuki yelled in complete astonishment. Orihime nodded.

"Wow, I feel a disturbance in the force," Fernando said to himself, sensing a feeling of pure anger and rage.

"GET DOWN HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Tatsuki yelled at the boy, sending shivers down his spine.

"Why should I? You're just going to hurt me," he sighed.

"NOW!" she fumed.

Jumping down, he tried to stop her before she could start trying to kill him. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. How about a deal?"

Tatsuki stopped mid-punch, her fist right in front of his face, "WHAT?"

Moving back from the future painful situation, he tells her, "How about this? If you can beat me in a fight, I'll leave and you'll never hear, see, or any of the other senses me again... but if I beat you, you have to put up with me if Orihime allows me to stay with her."

"Then, I _WON'T LOSE!_ You've got a deal," Tatsuki agreed.

Setting themselves for the fight, each took a different stance, "We'll go until one of us gives up. Got it?" Going at each other, Fernando saw the determination in her punches, her movements, her eyes. He smiled, neither one was landing a single blow, each missing by mere centimeter. Finally, Fernando left himself open to an attack, an attack he wouldn't regret. She spotted the opening in an instant, taking a strong knee to the stomach. She knocked the air out of him, leaving him wide open for a combination. Quickly taking full advantage of this, Tatsuki began a relentless assault of his body. With so many strong punches and kicks hitting him, he could no longer dodge or block them. Although he was getting his ass handed to him, he continued to smile. Seeing this, Tatsuki lightens up her attacks and let's him fall to the ground. Both panting, he laid on the ground not moving, she stood over him, the victor. Although he was complete destroyed, she surprisingly did not hit him in his groin or face as some sort of mutual respect as fighters.

"I give," Fernando said still on the floor.

"Tatsuki, you won," Orihime congratulated her friend.

Fernando got up and began to limp away; he thought to himself 'Maybe Urahara can put me up.'

They both stared at him walk away in silence; Orihime seemed to want to stop him. Chasing after him, she tried to convince him to stay, "I can't I made a promise to her that if I lose I would stay. I've been through tougher times than this. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," to her surprise, he smiled as he said this. He continued to walk away.

"YOU IDIOT!" Tatsuki yelled, punching him behind his head.

"Aren't you happy? You won," he said, getting back up.

"You were holding back, I know you were," Tatsuki said.

"Never said that you couldn't hold back," Fernando said, dusting himself off and walking away.

"Oh no you're not," Tatsuki said, forcibly dragging him back. "You tell me why you held back, NOW!"

"No reason in particular, just didn't feel like fighting," he replied, not wanting to look her in the eyes.

"I'm not letting you leave until you tell me why you let me win," Tatsuki demanded.

"You want the real reason, an excuse, or another fake reason," he said.

"TELL ME, NOW!" Tatsuki demanded, shaking him around.

"So abusive," he sighed. "Fine, I will tell you why. When we were in the fight, I saw that you were fighting for something that was extremely important to you, the way a person fights reveals a lot about that person. As for what you were fighting for, I do not know but I do have some ideas."

"You..." Tatsuki paused, clenching her teeth, "can stay as long as Orihime let's you."

"No, I promised I would leave and I going to..." he felt himself being dragged from behind.

"Orihime, are going to let him stay with you?" Tatsuki said, lifting the boy up in front of her.

'Damn, she's strong,' Fernando thought.

Thinking for a minute, Orihime smiled and nodded. "There, then you're staying," Tatsuki told him.

"Fine, but I don't want to stay for free. I'm no moocher, I'll cook and clean to earn my keep," he said, causing Tatsuki to laugh. "What?"

"You sound like a maid," she laughed, annoying Fernando.

Now inside cooking, Fernando found ingredients for Japanese foods. "That figures, looks like if I want to cook other foods then I'll have to find the ingredients myself," he told himself. "Although, I can make something they never tried."

About an hour later, he emerged from the kitchen holding two plates of food and placing them on the table and quickly went back for one last tray. Curiously eyeing the dish, both girls wondered what it was. He recognized the look and answered their question, "It's a gourmet dish called Zaru Soba"

Giving it a try, they found that the dish is excellent and delicious. Each devoured their plates in a matter of minutes; even he could not keep up with their fast-paced eating. Tatsuki could not believe that this boy could cook this well, "How did you learn to cook this well?"

"I was taught by one the greatest chefs in the world, Shinshyu, Ryouri Shinshyu," he told her.

"You said she was your master and adopted mother, right?" Orihime asked.

"Yes, I was an orphan until about four year ago, she adopted me," he told them and not wanting to share more than that, he moved toward the back wall. With one leg stretched out and the other bent up, he rested his head on his bent knee.

"What is he doing?" Tatsuki asked angrily, wondering if he was so lazy and rude as to sleep while people were there. Orihime shrugged, not knowing either. Shaking him, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm trying to meditate but you're making it a wee bit difficult with your shaking," he told her.

"Meditating?" Tatsuki asked him.

"Yes, meditating. It's something I do every day, in place of practicing my martial arts. It's a lot easier," he told them. After a few minutes of complete silence, he finally fell into his meditative state. The girls' seemed to not believe him in that he was meditating. Thinking he was actually asleep, they began to talk about more personal matters.

He could every word they said, Tatsuki had started the conversation, "So, what happening between you and Ichigo?"

"Nothing!" he heard Orihime exclaim in nervous sounding voice.

"You know if you don't make your move someone else will. So what are you waiting?" Tatsuki asked.

"But... I want to wait and see if he likes me, too," she said with an element of shyness in her voice.

"I still think you should be more aggressive, Orihime! Someone's going to swipe him right from under you! You can't wait too long!" Tatsuki said in slightly angry tone.

Losing interest in conversation in the rest of the conversation, Fernando decided to concentrate on his mediation. So deep into his meditation, he lost his sense in time. A shake broke his meditative state, Orihime had shaken him. He realized that Tatsuki had left, this relieved him. "Thanks, when meditating, it's easy to lose track of time," he told her.

"Umm… we thought you were asleep," she said.

"Well, I did tell you that I was meditating. And I did overhear a tiny bit of your conversation with Tatsuki," Fernando said, providing proof that he was not asleep as they thought. She blushed, knowing exactly what he heard. Lying down next on the opposite side of the small table, out of sight of Orihime, he told her, "It's none of my business, but who is Ichigo?"

She blushed a deeper red, "You h-h-heard?"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just a little curious is all," he said in a very casual voice.

"Ok, I'll tell you but please don't tell anyone else," she begged him.

"Yeah like I'm going to tell everyone, I don't even know anyone else but you and Tatsuki," he lied, keeping his encounter at Urahara's shop a secret.

"His name Kurosaki Ichigo, we go to the same class together. He was friends with Tatsuki since they were kids," she said, pausing a second. "And I… I-I had a crush on him for a long time now." He didn't respond, he already heard this and it didn't make much news to him. "Did you ever have anyone you liked?"

He laughed, very loudly, "You can't be serious! I never felt that with anyone I've ever met. Above any physical attraction, no, I've never felt that way about anyone."

"So I guess you couldn't help me to tell whether he liked me to," she said, disappointed.

"I can give some advice, though. Well just my point of view on love, I believe that love is like a double-edged sword, it can leave you with unbelievable sorrow or it can give you the happiest feeling in the world. Just be careful that it is truly love that you're feeling, there a fine line between love and obsession. I believe that you love someone, not only when you would risk your life for them but when you would be willing to give up your own happiness for a chance for them to be happy," Fernando said, his incite exceeding his years."When you meditate for hours, you have plenty of time to think about these things."

Orihime was amazed by his thoughts on love, "If you said that you never thought about anything like, then how come you said right now that you do?"

"I guess I wanted to make myself think that I didn't," he said. "Maybe I'm just waiting for the right person to come along. But until then, I just stay by myself." He followed this up by a yawn, "I guess that's all I had in me."

Rolling out the mat for himself, he wrapped himself up. Orihime bade a good night, he did as well. As he started to fall to sleep, he once again heard the voice from last night in his head. "Hello, there," the voice greeted him.

"Well, well, well, look who finally showed up," Fernando thought.

"What? You'd rather I didn't?" the voice asked.

"It would make me feel less insane," he replied.

"Take the training Urahara is offering you," the voice commanded.

"What? Why?" he said.

"Trust me, you're going to need it. For now, train, listen and take to everything Kisuke has to offer, and become stronger, something already coming your way. You have to be ready to face it," the voice said, fading away.

As he heard it fading, Fernando told himself, "I'm definitely in some deep crap." Falling back and falling asleep, not a sound stirred through the apartment.


	5. Crash Course

**Crash Course**

**AN:** Hello once again my fellow readers, I'm running out of witty thing to say in these Author's Notes. One new thing, since, apparently, Fanfiction won't let me put a row of X's instead they replaced it with an empty line, so now that will be your signal for setting change. Since I never thanked **helovestowrite **for being my first and only reviewer so far, thank you **helovestowrite** and I continue to encourage you guys to review my story. I will continue even without reviews but I just want to know what you guys think of it so far. By the way, the next chapter is an important milestone in this story, I have no idea how long it'll take to write it though. So please Read, Review and Enjoy.

The very next day, after cooking breakfast for the two girls, Fernando once again snuck out through the apartment window, once they had left. Arriving back at the small shop, he saw the two children once again sweeping the shop, although Jinta mostly just stood ordering Ururu to sweep. "Where's Urahara?" Fernando asked, accidently startling the red-headed boy.

"Hey, what's the big idea sneaking up on me like that?!" Jinta yelled, embarrassed by a laughing Ururu.

"I didn't sneak up on you. Don't get mad at me if you're easily scared," he replied.

"He's still asleep, probably because he knows that no one ever comes to buy anything," he said in low tone still mad that he was startled so easily.

"What did you say about our shop?!" a voice boomed from inside the shop. The mustached giant also managed to scare the small boy.

"See, too easy to scare," Fernando pointed out.

"Then start sweeping if you're not doing anything anyway!" Jinta steamed.

"Nope, technically I still haven't taken the job. So I don't have to do anything yet," he said, lying down on the ground. "Just warn me when he's awake." After finishing their sweeping, both kids went back into the shop. He waited outside on the ground, watching the clouds go by. Hearing footsteps approaching quickly, he flipped onto his back to see who it was. He did not see anyone and he no longer heard the footsteps either. Putting out it his mind and flipping back onto his back, instead of clouds, he saw black haired girl wearing the same uniform as Orihime and Tatsuki. 'What the…?' he thought before having his arm grabbed and twisted by the girl.

"Who are you?!" she demanded, wrenching his arm. She was surprisingly strong for her size as Fernando could clearly tell.

Sweeping his leg across her feet causing her to dodge, he asked her, "Who the hell do you think you are, twisting my arm? I wasn't doing anything."

She responded by lifting her finger and pointing towards him, she yelled, "Hadō 33: Sōkatsui!" A small blue orb of light shone at the end of her finger but it quickly faded. Both she and Fernando looked incredibly confused.

Urahara emerged from his shop, he yawned, "Both of you met, that's good."

"Who is he, Kisuke?" the girl asked.

"A better question is why the hell you attacked me for no good reason. I don't even know you," Fernando told her.

"Fine both of you come in, we can straighten this out without both of you fighting," Urahara yawned. Fernando complied, she hesitated at first but also eventually obeyed.

"Ok so you two introduce yourselves," Urahara ordered.

Remembering what the voice in his head said, he obeyed, "My name is Kurokishi Fernando."

He extended his hand for a handshake, she shook it, "I am Kuchiki Rukia, shinigami and member of 13th Division of the Gotei 13."

"Huh?" Fernando looked confused. Urahara hung his head.

"You haven't told him? I would have thought that you had because you seemed to know him," Rukia asked him.

"I was hoping not to tell him, would have saved me the whole explanation," Urahara sighed. "Shinigami are souls with extraordinary high levels of Reiryoku. Gotei 13 serves as a guard for the Seireitei and is made up of 13 divisions of Shinigami. Some Shinigami are sent to the Human World to exorcise Hollows and to perform konsō on Pluses."

"Hollows?" Fernando asked, trying to take in all this information.

"Did you tell him anything?" Rukia asked angrily.

"I barely met him yesterday, we haven't had chance to talk. Hollows are souls that had not had a konsō performed on them. They transform into black creatures with white masks, they can transform in numerous ways so I'm not listing them all. They feed on other souls, both living and dead ones," Urahara continued his explanation.

"One last question, what is Reiryoku?" Fernando asked.

"Reiryoku is power that all souls have but most don't have enough to do anything with it. The souls with the most Reiryoku are usually Shinigami. It can be used in many ways from healing to attacking to defending," Urahara finished his explanation.

"Why is he here anyway, Kisuke?" Rukia asked.

"Well, he had a strange enough Reiatsu to trigger Ururu's Genocide Mode. I thought someone like that is worth training," Urahara replied.

"You're going to train this boy, he has no Zanpakutō. How will train him?" she asked him.

"You have to stop judging from appearances, Rukia. I believe that, with his strange Reiryoku, he might actually have a Zanpakutō," Urahara told the girl, surprising Fernando with intelligent incite on appearance.

'And I thought he was just a lazy shopkeeper," Fernando said.

"Hmm…" Rukia seemed to be concentrating on something. "Well he does have some Reiatsu. But it's so weak; I doubt it's worth training him."

"Says the girl that barely made to the last division of the Gotei 13," he mocked her for mocking him.

"What did you say?!" she asked him, clenching her teeth.

"Ok calm down," Urahara said, slightly laughing. "What did you come here for Rukia?"

"I need to make a special order; ok well you can tell Tessai what you need. Me and my new little apprentice need to talk," Urahara said, gesturing towards the door.

"How are you so sure that I'm going to take you up on your offer?" Fernando asked him.

"Why else would you be back?" Urahara said observantly.

'He's smarter than he looks, maybe I should take up his advice. Never judge by appearances,' Fernando thought.

"Well are you going to admit it? You know you want the training from me," Urahara said teasingly.

"And he's modest too," Fernando sighed in low tone.

"Well are you agreeing to help me around the shop for the training I'm going to give you?" Urahara said, excited for receiving a new employee for no pay.

"Well if that's what have to do to receive your training, then I'll do it," Fernando agreed.

"Ok, well since you did work around the shop yesterday, I guess we could start on your training today," Urahara said.

"One question: What is this training going to be for?" Fernando asked.

"Well, it hard to put into words, you'll once we get started," Urahara said.

"You mentioned souls and energy they have, how am I supposed to believe that? I know that there are ghost and spirits in the world, I trust you on that. But if there are some just wandering around and these monsters, Hollows I think you said, then why aren't we panicking each time one comes to feed?" Fernando asked him, following him to a back room. Urahara revealed a trap door with a bright light beaming from below. As they climbed down, he looked all around, the room was vast and rocky. Small rocks, huge boulders and rocky hills covered the entire area but two things confused him: why was there sunlight if they were in a basement and how did he manage to do this? These questions, though, he knew where best saved for later. He stared in awe at the large region.

"Most people can see souls and Hollows or Shinigami for that matter," Urahara explained. Looking back, he found Fernando looking all about completely impressed by his training room. "Like it? It took me a good amount of time to make it but I think it was worth it in the end, don't you?"

"Then how come I was able to see a little girl that just disappeared after I gave her her cat? How come I'm able to see that other girl, the Shinigami girl from earlier?" Fernando asked.

"Rukia? She's in a Gigai so that is why you can see her. As for the girl, did she have broken chain on her chest?" Urahara asked.

"Sorry not into pedophilia, didn't look there," Fernando responded.

"Not like that, it's important to tell if she was a soul or not," Urahara said.

"Well, let me remember," Fernando said, closing his eyes. Sitting down, he juggled the meeting in his head over and over again trying to remember the detail Urahara asked for.

"Yeah don't worry, we have all day," Urahara said impatiently.

"I think so, I don't remember. Like I said before, I don't look there," Fernando said, standing back up.

"Well I believe you that you probably don't remember and that you did see a soul. But I know you're lying about not looking there, that's the exact place where most boy's eyes drift to when you see a pretty girl," Urahara said, teasing him once more.

"Can we just get on with it?" Fernando said, sighing.

"See you didn't deny it, so I am right," Urahara said, proud of himself. Fernando only response was sighing. "Ok since you apparently don't know anything about souls or Hollows or Shinigami then I guess you don't know how to sense them."

"Sense?" Fernando asked.

"Yes, sense. But how can I teach you? Well I guess you try to sense my Reiatsu," Urahara told him.

"Wait how do I sense Reiatsu? You didn't explain how," Fernando asked, confused.

"Concentrate, try to feel the power around you. You'll know when find it," Urahara said.

Sighing once more, Fernando sat down, beginning to meditate. He began to breath slower, taking deeper and longer breaths. 'I don't understand, how am I supposed to sense the spirit energy thing? He didn't teach me how."

'There are some things that you can't teach, sometimes you have to learn thing by yourself,' the voice in his head returned.

'So you're back once again, huh? Do you know how to sense his Rei-whatever?' he asked the voice.

'I told you, listen to whatever he tells you. Everything he will teach you and I mean _everything_ he will teach you, you are going to need. Don't take him for granted or an idiot, he is much more experienced and wiser than you know. Good luck,' the voice faded.

'Oh yeah, that was useful,' he thought to himself. 'Well he said to concentrate, so let's see.'

The two children had been watching the whole time, for almost over two hours. Jinta was growing impatient, "Man! I think Rukia was right, he isn't worth training if it's taking him this long just find Urahara's Reiatsu."

Ururu just sat there patiently waiting for him to either give up or succeed. Another hour passed but it still seemed that he was not going to succeed, Urahara himself was starting to doubt his own expectation. "Maybe I had this kid figured all wrong just because he had a strange Reiatsu doesn't mean he had to have a strong one," he told himself.

'Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate, come on! I still can't feel anything! Come on I have to do this!' Fernando thought to himself.

"Wait, what's that?" Ururu pointed out a dark light leak out of him.

Urahara laughed, "Wow, he has the stupidest luck in the world. Instead of sensing my Reiatsu, he actually released his own. It's not much of a release but he actually did it and I'll give him that."

"I'm sorry, I can't do it," Fernando said with a noticeable disappointment in his voice.

"Well that alright but you did manage to release some of your own Reiatsu," Urahara told him.

"Huh? My own?" Fernando asked him, scratching his head in confusion.

"Yeah, you must have been concentrating pretty damn hard to actually have done that. But don't get excited, it was barely anything and you accidently did it with dumb luck," Urahara warned him. "It only gets harder from here and we're going to continue trying to release more of your Reiatsu and we'll see what your limit is. We'll go back to sensing Reiatsu later. Are you ready to continue?"

"I understand and yeah I'm ready," his student replied.

"Ok, do what you did before and I'll tell you when you can stop," Urahara ordered. Without question, Fernando obeyed. "One question before you start, how come you listen to me and never complain? You even apologized when you couldn't do it."

"I have mastered six different types of martial arts; the very first thing they taught me was discipline. Listen to your master without question if you want to learn," Fernando replied.

Urahara smiled, "You just admitted that I was your master."

"Can we just start?" Fernando said, annoyed.

"And you didn't deny it again, so I am someone's master. Feels great," Urahara said arrogantly.

'What have I gotten myself into?' Fernando thought to himself, beginning his meditation.

Laying chest first on the ground, Fernando was gasping for air. "Why...why am...I so...tired? I haven't done anything," he asked Urahara.

"Don't worry, that's actually normal. When you use a lot Reiryoku at once, you're going to feel pretty drained and hungry so you should eat something," Urahara answered, walking away.

"Are you going to give me something to eat?" Fernando asked him.

"Hey I said would train you, not feed you. You're going to have to find something to eat yourself," Urahara said, climbing out of the rugged terrain.

"Bastard," Fernando said, getting back up. 'Damn, feel so damned tired. I can barely stand up. Will I even be able to climb out?' Beginning to climb out, he began to feel his arm tremble. "Shit!" he yelled before his hands failed him and his fingers let go of the ladder. 'This going to hurt... a lot.'

"Are you ok?" Urahara asked the teen.

"Yeah, I just thought that it would be fun to see if falling 20 feet from the ladder would hurt. I was right, it did," Fernando replied sarcastically.

"By the way, we measure stuff using the metric system not feet and inches," Urahara told him.

"Now I have to learn how to use the metric system. Well in physics we used the metric system and it actually makes more sense than feet and inches and yard, with their decimal approximations," Fernando said to himself. "I got to stop talking to myself, if someone hears me talking to myself they'll think I'm crazy. Kind of appropriate, though, I _am_ hearing voices in my head and dreaming that there's something inside that wants to take over my body. And there I go again." He started up the ladder again, this time determined to reach the top. Although struggling, he managed to keep a nice steady pace until he reached the top. His arms could no longer support his weight; he felt his fingers wanting to give out. Out of pure willpower, he managed to get one hand to the floor of the back room where the trap door was. 'Damn it! Come on, I can't be this tired.' He swung his other hand to the floor but he barely had enough strength to bend his elbows. He began to feel his fingers slipping from the grip he had on the floor. 'Screw you, Urahara! You don't want to help me. The best case scenario for falling from this height would be me being paralyzed. Come on, come on!'

A certain red-headed boy happened to be passing by when he saw the fingers of someone at the trap door. "Well, well, well, look who we got here. Mr. Stop Slapping Yourself, how are you doing?"

"I don't suppose you're here to help me, are you?" Fernando asked.

"Nope, just waiting for you to go splat. Wonder if Ururu wants to see too?" Jinta said as he left the room.

"Yeah this is perfect, just perfect!" Fernando said to himself.

He heard footsteps coming closer to him, he heard Jinta tell him, "Turns out Ururu's busy right now but I can still watch." No matter how much he struggled, Fernando could not get up and now one of his hands escaped the grip and now he was hanging on by one. He sighed knowing that was about to fall. To his surprise, he felt two small hands grab his arm and pull him up. At first he thought it was Ururu, the polite girl would not have let him fall but when he looked up it turned out to be Jinta. He was incredibly astonished by his small savior, "Don't take this as a sign that I like you. It's just that if you die then I'll have to go back to tricking Ururu to do my chores."

"Well thanks anyway," Fernando said, smiling. 'He's a good kid, he just doesn't like to show it.' Jinta managed to pull him up in tug, surprising Fernando even more. 'Pretty damn strong too.'

"So, are you human?" Jinta asked, stretching out his arms.

"Yes, why would you ask?" Fernando asked back, confused.

"Well most people can't see souls, don't have Reiryoku like yours or can release it while still in their body. You, you're different. I don't know, you don't seem human to me," Jinta replied.

'Not human? Then what am I? I was pretty sure I was human,' he pondered this in his head.

"You have to take me seriously, I'm just saying I think. You could be a special human like me and Ururu but..." Jinta continued but was interrupted by Fernando.

"Well... I have to go need to do something before two certain people know I'm missing. Thank you once again," he told Jinta.

"Hey I told you that I only did it because I don't to lose the person who does whatever I say," Jinta said, rejecting the 'thank you.'

Arriving back at the complex, Fernando realized that he was actually pretty late, the window he snuck out from was closed which meant the girls were probably back. Sighing, he thought to himself, 'If Tatsuki is there, then she's going to be pissed that I wasn't there to cook and clean like I said I would.' He walked slowly up the stairs careful not to make a noise and see if Tatsuki was truly there. He leaned his ear next to the door and. to his luck, he did hear her but this only slightly calmed his fear of her. He was in no shape to fight right now, still fatigued from the training that Urahara put him through. He got up the courage to knock on the door. Unfortunately for him, he actually was at the wrong door. 'Craaaaaap,' is all he thought when he had to make up an excuse to explain why he knocked on the wrong door.

The neighbor just smiled, "It's about time that girl got herself a man who could take care of her. Thought she was going to live by herself forever."

"No, it's really not like that. Just a friend of hers, I really can't think that way right now," Fernando explained. 'It's only the truth. I really need get back to my own home. I've been away for too long now but with no money and _paying _job, I won't be able to get back home for awhile and think about her like that will only A) Slow down my progress and B) Probably get me kicked out of her home. And anyway it would be rude to try anything on her; she was kind enough to let me into her home. I have to be grateful to her and I'm saying this after being late back, I'm such hypocrite.'

"He seems nice enough, a little too serious though. She'll lighten him up in no time," the neighbor said to herself while continuing to smile.

'A LITTLE TOO SERIOUS!!! You would be too if you had to fight your best friend and then woke up in a foreign country!!!' he screamed in his head as he heard the woman as he walked off. He finally reached the door, he looked at the label next to the door to assure himself that he was at the right door. He read the label and once again found himself confused, if he was in Japan, shouldn't the label be in Kanji but as he read it seemed to be in the English alphabet. 'You know what I give up trying to make sense of what the hell happened to me!'

Knocking on the door, he gulped preparing for a beat down courtesy of Tatsuki but to his luck Orihime answered the door, "I thought you left, I didn't think you were coming back." He looked above her reddish-brown but he saw no sign of Tatsuki, he sighed in relief. "What are looking for?"

"Tatsuki, but it doesn't look like she's here," Fernando told her.

"You want me to call her, she wanted to see you too but she had to go home early," Orihime said heading toward the phone.

He quickly reached for her hand, to stop her from grabbing the phone, "No, please don't call her."

"You don't want to see Tatsuki?" Orihime asked in confusion.

"Well, not really," he replied.

"How come? You and Tatsuki seem to have lots of fun fighting, especially Tatsuki. I've never seen her enjoy fighting someone so much," Orihime told him.

'She's probably imagining beating my face in,' he thought to himself. "To tell the truth, I'm scared of her."

"You're scared of her?" Orihime asked, not understanding why _he_, the only person who was actually able to beat her, would be scared of her.

"She reminds me way too much of Shinshyu," he answered her. Then noticing he still had his hand on hers', he pried his hand from hers', "Sorry about that."

"Your hand was really warm," Orihime compared his to her own cold hand.

"It's probably because I always wear my coat and also because I am darker than you, wee bit darker actually," he pointed out the difference in their skin's tints. She held out her pale hand next to his tanned one and noticed the difference immediately.

"You're right," she said, retracting her hand. Taking off his boots once more, he walked toward the back wall of the living room. Plopping down, he breathed hard and deep, still tired from the training. She stared at him, confused as in why he was so tired.

He noticed her staring and instantly knew what was on her mind, "It better that you not ask why."

She understood. Sitting at the opposite end of the table, they said nothing to each other. He felt uneasy about this awkward silence but could break it because of his own awkwardness. She wondered something, though. She could get up the courage to ask, the silence was too great. For almost an hour they sat in silence, he finally decided to break the awkwardness, "Looks like you have something you want to ask. Go ahead just don't ask about why I'm tired or where I've been."

"Well..." Orihime said, thinking of how to ask. "What does meditating do for you?"

"Let's see, how can I put this?" he asked himself. "What it does is calms you down and lets you think clearly. Allowing you to concentrate on something and that something could be anything. I generally use it instead having to practice my martial arts. Sometimes I'll use it to think about things or even just relax and escape everything that's bothering me."

"Can you teach me how to meditate?" Orihime asked, stunning Fernando with her question.

"It's not something I can really teach you..." he paused, realizing that what the voice in his head had told him was true. "I can tell you how it works; you'll have to do it by yourself."

"Ok," she said, inching herself closer to him.

"You know you don't have to get this close to me," he said, moving away from her.

"You don't like anyone getting close to you, do you?" Orihime asked disappointingly.

"Just a little awkward, that's all," he said but then he began to think, 'But if there's nothing between us, it should feel this awkward. Maybe she doesn't feel that way about me that's why she could get so to me without feeling how I'm feeling. Ok, if I really don't feel anything for her than I could relax around her.' He forcefully moved himself closer to her. She looked pretty happy to know he wasn't scared to be near but the truth was that he was, he was just suppressing it. "Are you ready?"

She got into the lotus position. "Yup," she said, ready learn the ways of meditation.

"You don't have to be in the lotus position, you know? That just a stereotype of how to meditate, you do it in any way you like. You can lie down, sit against the wall, sit in a chair or in any other way you want," he told her, knowing she would go into that position just as most people, including himself, would have done if they first started meditating.

"Oh ok," she said, coming out her uncomfortable position. She sat against just a he was.

"Don't worry about it. I actually did that the first time too. At least you didn't have a little Asian man slapping you in the back of the head for doing it wrong," Fernando said, encouraging her to continue.

"Ok what next?" Orihime asked him curiously.

"Close your eyes," he said in a low tone. She obeyed his order, but before she could ask "What next?" He already answered, "Don't talk, stay quiet and now concentrate." He saw her breathing slow down, "You're doing well, find center and keep concentrating. I'll have to stay quiet now because this is your first time meditating, you have to have full concentration and complete silence to start."

He looked at her, once again he found himself attracted to her. He could help himself, though. He was just a teenage boy after all. No matter how much discipline and self-control he had, he couldn't help but to look at her like man would to a woman. With deep breaths and his own meditative skills, he managed to keep himself from her. He remembered one thing he forgot to tell her, "Remember not to fall to..." She fell onto his shoulder. Sighing, he finished his sentence, "sleep." He did not feel alright with her resting on his shoulder but at the same time, he liked it. These conflicting emotions confused him even more. But he knew the right thing to do, his adopted mother's words of wisdom rung through his ears, mostly because of the fact she always screamed at him respect to women and preached to him to always have consideration and act like a gentleman around them. 'I guess I am lucky to have had a mother like her. But what happened to her, I can't believe that I'm stuck here! I need to get back! Why am I getting so angry?!'

His eyes began to be taken over by the blood red, he heard a his own voice in sadistic tone, 'That's it...Feel your anger rise. Just as when you fought your friend, give me control once again. You would no longer have to be confused, you won't have to feel anything anymore.' His eyes were fully devoured by the crimson color except for one spot, 'Stop resisting, I promise there wouldn't anymore weight on your shoulders if...YOU...JUST...GIVE ME...CONTROL!!!'

Right before that one last spot was covered, he felt Orihime rub against him causing him to focus on her. This and her sweet aroma were enough to relax and calm him down. In an instant, the red in his eyes receded, returning them to their unnatural shade of silver. 'So close, but even you can't stay calm for long and someone won't always be there to calm you,' the evil voice warned him, laughing as it faded.

'That wasn't just a dream then. What am I?' he thought to himself, covering his eyes. He felt Orihime's rub again, 'And this girl... why am I so confused about her? So many questions and no one to answer them. Well the only thing to do now is take her to her bed, hopefully Urahara might have some answers.' Trying not to disturb her slumber, he let her lie on the floor. He couldn't think of a way to carry her without it being too suggestive. Sighing, he decided to carry as fast as he could, without waking her, to her room. He picked her up slowly, trying not to look at her. Reaching the door, he didn't know how to open it both of his hands were supporting her, he didn't have the strength to carry her with just one. Panicking, he didn't know what to do, until she warped her arms around his neck, almost as if she wanted him to carry her like a small child. But this gave him enough support that he could afford to carry her with one hand long enough to open the door.

He rushed towards her bed, laid her down and stood back up. But before completely getting himself up, he managed to hear a whisper escape her lips, "Thank you, Sora." Wrapping herself up in her blankets, she drifted off into sleep.

"Who's Sora?" Fernando wondered out loud as he exited her room.

Fernando once again had vivid dream, it was the end of the battle between him and his old friend Anthony. He also saw how he ended up in this mild town but still didn't understand why his friend would have sent him here of all places. He was certain that this was not just a dream because he had the same feeling as the other dreams he had that were indeed more than just dreams.

After a morning of verbal abuse from Tatsuki, Fernando once again snuck out the window. He confronted Urahara with his latest dream and the events leading up the fight; Urahara couldn't have looked more confused, "I never heard of something like that happening. I really doubt it involves the Gotei 13. I'm sorry I can't be any help. As for the portal your friend opened, it sounds like something I could recreate but since I didn't see it, I don't really know how would form it."

"It's alright, just hoping someone would have answers to what is happened to me," Fernando sighed.

"Well, back to cleaning the shop," Urahara ordered his new employee.

"What? No training?" Fernando asked him.

"Do you really think you can take two days of training like yesterday? We'll alternate days, one day of training, two days of rest," Urahara explained, taking notice that his young student was still slightly worn from yesterday.

"Wait, you consider me cleaning your shop 'rest'?" Fernando questioned his teacher's definition of 'rest'.

"Would you rather train?" Urahara suggested.

"No," Fernando sighed.

After hours of sorting and organizing the stock room of Urahara's shop, Fernando was not even a quarter done. "Why is this stock room in such bad shape? I mean I've seen bad inventory but this is just stupid. If I hadn't worked in general stores before, than it would have been hopeless to make any progress. Yeah it might look neat and tidy but it's so unorganized that the defective merchandise is scattered everywhere, along with the good stuff," Fernando said to himself.

"You shouldn't talk to yourself, people might think you're crazy," Jinta said as he passed by.

"Why don't I show an old America pass time, it's called the Wedgie," Fernando threatened the boy. Jinta walked casually away. Urahara soon came in to dismiss Fernando to go home, leaving him to once again talk himself. "Damn, I'm really overstaying my welcome at Orihime's apartment but she doesn't seem to mind..." Fernando said to himself as he walked down through the town. "And I really don't want to ask Urahara for a place to stay, even though he owes me for all the organizing I have to do to fix his stock room. But it's feels awkward whenever me and Orihime are alone, even if she doesn't feel it. I don't know what to do!"

Arriving at her door, he sighed as he spoke about her to himself, "But is it really my fault to be attracted to her. I mean, she _is _very, I can't myself for saying this, beautiful, unbelievably kind, funny and just something about her that I can't put into words. I would have to be gay not be attracted her but that doesn't mean I have to act on it, though." Right before he could knock on her door, Orihime had opened the door. 'Oh, screw my life,' he thought to himself. 'Did she hear what I said?'

She was blushing a deep red. She couldn't speak, just stood looking at him but not face to face. "Well there goes my secret, along with my place to stay," he said in low tone as he jumped onto railing then climbed on to the roof.

She still stood there silent. She couldn't believe that she had been complimented, so nicely but unexpectedly. Although, she still didn't understand that he was completely taken by her. Still oblivious as ever, she believed that he was just being kind in his compliments. She re-entered her home, wondering why he had left and why he said what he did before he left.

She waited for hours in her apartment but Fernando never came back. It was already late the moon was out and the air outside was refreshingly cool. Orihime was feeling the heat of her apartment getting to her; she decided to open her window. She felt the nice breeze sweep through her apartment. Kneeling at her window, she noticed a leg dangling above her. She decided to pull the leg to see why it was there.

Unfortunately this leg happened to belong to none other than Fernando himself. Having stayed on the roof the entire time, he tried to bring up the courage to ask either Otihime or Urahara to stay the night. She pulled his leg in the middle of a nap he was having, the nice, cool air had lulled him to sleep. He was still asleep as he fell down but had woken up mid-fall to a bad sight. He was less than a second from hitting the ground but he was still too drowsy to react.

"Oops," she said, closing her eyes not wanting to witness her friend's latest harmful situation. His arm was twitching as he lied on the ground.

"AGH! Damn it!" Fernando swore out loud but then quickly covered his mouth, realizing that he had said this at a volume that someone could hear. 'I was lucky that Shinshyu couldn't hear me say that or she would've killed me for swearing.'

Meanwhile, Orihime was surprised to hear the teenager swear and even more surprised that it was so loud. A sweat drop formed in back of Fernando's head, sensing someone watching him and had heard him swear. He slowly turned his head to see who was watching him, unfortunately for him it was Orihime. 'It just had to be her, huh? Maybe God just hates me, or whatever freakin' force is giving bad luck,' he sighed as he thought this. He moved his hand through his soft but messy hair, mysteriously earning a gasp from the brown eyed girl. He looked at his hand; it was completely covered in blood. "Well... that's not good at all."

When he looked back up where Orihime was, she had disappeared from sight. 'Where'd she go?' he questioned himself in his mind. He pulled out a handkerchief from inside his coat, he told himself as he wiped away his blood, "I guess this thing does come in handy." He found his head bleeding profusely from a cut on his forehead. The blood slid down his face, he could feel it drizzle down to his nose and drip off. Although he kept weeping away the blood, it continued to seep out. Soon the handkerchief was soaked in blood but the bleeding did not stop.

He heard footsteps from above, almost as if someone was running down the pathway that leads to the upper apartment. He soon saw Orihime running towards him holding something in her hand. It was a first aid kit, she sat and began to nurse his wounded head. As she did, Fernando found himself compelled to ask, "Why are you helping me?"

"You're my friend and friends are always there to help each other," she answered him as she still nursed his head. His mouth was inches from her own but yet something took away the want to close the gap. For the first time, he did not feel awkward being alone with her. Even though the attraction was still there, he was able to overlook it but he did not know why.

As Orihime finished her bandaging, she looked at him. He no longer had a serious expression; instead he was letting his smile show to someone. This did not last long, though. The serious look soon returned but he did seem more open to her. He asked her, "Would you mind if I stayed with you just a little longer? I promised to come back sooner, I've been doing something that's been taking up my time. And I also promise that I will not try anything on you."

"Like what clothes?" Orihime asked, looking confused.

"Don't you remember what I said about you," Fernando replied.

"Oh about me being 'beautiful, unbelievably kind, funny and just something about me that you can't put into words,'" she repeated almost verbatim. He gulped as she did, not wanting to remember that moment again.

"Please don't tell Tatsuki I said that," he begged the oblivious girl.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just don't, please," he continued to beg her.

"Ok and I didn't say thank you for what you said about me. No boy ever said that about me, actually I think the only person that ever said that about me would have to be Chizuru. She always so nice, you should meet her. She always says nice things about me like you did and she hugs every time I see her at school," Orihime ranted on. Fernando was glad that she didn't understand that he was crushing on her. "But you can stay if you want."

Once again he managed to keep himself in a home after another horrible obstacle. 'I really hope everyday isn't like this. I don't think I could take it if it were,' he thought, following her back to her welcoming home.


	6. Dayoff

**Day-off**

**Author's Note: **Guess what?_ I'm ba-a-ck!_ Well, sorry for being gone so long, I was incredibly busy. But that doesn't mean I gave up on this story, oh no, far from it in fact. Sorry but this a slower chapter, not very actiony or romantic, but don't worry the action will be coming soon. But on to another subject, one change: the time/setting skips are now marked by an empty line because apparently it doesn't like when I fill the line with "X" or "...". So Read, Review and Enjoy. Doubt the second still gonna happen, though. LOL

Yet again, another what was now an average morning for the lost and confused American stuck in Japan. He cooked, cleaned, then went to his newly acquired job at the strange little shop owned by the even more mysterious Urahara. He couldn't help but wonder why he was dealing with all this. He was bored out of his mind, having nothing to do other than what he was told. The highlight of his day was his occasional fight with Tatsuki, whether it was physical or verbal.

Then there was his unanswered question, which were increasing as he continues to learn more about his gracious host. But first came his boredom, during these times it was when his mind drifted off into a daydream of all activities he used to do at home. He was actually a little home sick to his surprise; all he ever wanted to do is stay away from home as long as in a different country. And now here he was, and all he could think about is his video games, the huge yard where he used compete against his closest friend, all his stuff and his room.

Soon he felt someone shaking him, it turned out to be Tatsuki but it wasn't her hands shaking him, it was her foot. He backed away and brushed the footprint off his coat.

"What's the matter with you? You're getting footprints on me," he said, upset and surprising both of the girls as they never heard him even get slightly angry.

"Why are you just sitting there, staring at nothing?" Tatsuki asked back, getting angry that he had gotten upset.

"Just so bored, I start daydreaming when I'm bored. I do same thing, day in and day out. I thought it be fun to get out of the country, especially to Japan. I thought it would be full of anime, lights, games, hot…" he paused, realizing what he was about to say might not only make himself look shallow but will also offend the two girl present.

"Hot… What? Come on, finish what you were going to say," Tatsuki demanded.

"Hot…" Fernando thought for a bit and answered wittingly, "hot and delicious food."

Still blissfully unaware of what he was about to say, Orihime said, "But you're such a good cook, why would you come just to try the food here? You could probably make it better at home."

He slightly grinned not believing it worked, but by now he was used to Orihime's non-filthy mind. Although Orihime had believed him, Tatsuki didn't fall for it. "I'm _so sure_ that you came for the food."

'Why can't she be like Orihime?' he asked himself.

"Well, it is Friday tomorrow. We could go out, after school," Orihime pondered.

"I'm coming too," Tatsuki said, inviting herself along, not trusting the boy to be alone with her best friend.

"Maybe we can even go shopping for new clothes," Orihime added. Tatsuki didn't protest, it wasn't her favorite activity but Fernando was wearing a look of horror after hearing the words "shopping" and "clothes" in the same sentence coming from a girl.

"What's wrong? You don't like shopping?" Orihime asked.

"Of course, I do," he lied. Truth be told, he never wanted to go shopping with a woman ever again, not after how he saw his mother shop during a black Friday shopping sale where they literally stayed out all day shopping from store to store. She was what he now called an aggressive shopper, she fought over everything when it was on sale and he meant that literally. She was nearly arrested during one such fight only to be let go because the other shopper threw the first punch and was seen to do this by many eyewitnesses. But even when calmly shopped, she took over an hour choosing _a_ shirt. With those past experiences, he was not looking forward to shopping with two girls.

As planned, they headed out as soon as each had time to change. And also Fernando, for the time they had seen him, had tamed his hair and combed it back. Since he arrived, he had not combed his hair or even tried to take care of it, usually he wore it just like it was since he woke up. It was a very unusual hair style to wear in Japan apparently because he had not seen one person have their hair combed back. In fact, most people's hair looked like they had just rolled out of bed, either that or they had used truck loads of gel in order to keep their hair in a spiky sort of fashion.

"We ready?" he asked them.

"You're gonna stick out wearing your hair like that, you know," Tatsuki told him.

"Hmm… Whatever," was his only response.

"You look like you would be going to a business meeting," Orihime commented.

"Why _do_ you wear your hair like that?" Tatsuki asked. "Everyone's gonna know you're not from here."

"I always wore my hair like this whenever I go out," Fernando answered. "Is it bad to stand out in the crowd around here?"

"You can say that," Tatsuki answered.

Orihime remained quiet, almost as if remembering something she rather had not. Noticing this, Fernando switched the subject, "Should we get going then?" And with that, they headed out.

After hours of shopping, Fernando mind was fried because of the boredom of having to shop with women again. But he did not let either of the girls see it on his face. He kept up this charade for hours as they moved from store to store. And as he expected and accepted, he was the one to carry all the bags. They had only bought things themselves, which Orihime eventually when she saw him carrying everything for without a single complaint.

So after entering another store, she and Tatsuki managed to convince him to wait outside and rest awhile. Orihime went in search to buy him something for being so helpful and for going out with them, Tatsuki saw no reason to buy him anything but she did not hesitate to help her. Orihime had no idea what to buy him, though.

As he waited outside, Fernando noticed a commotion close by, over by what though to be a small arcade. He went to go check it out; only to find it was a girl and a boy playing against each other on something that seem to be a Dance Dance Revolution station. 'Really? I thought that that was just a bad stereotype about them.' The girl, from he could tell, was winning and putting the boy to shame. The boy was already out of breath but from he could hear in the crowd, the girl had been challenging everyone to play against her. She had won every single time according to the crowd.

Meanwhile, Orihime found what she thought to be a good gift to give him. Seeing how he always used his jacket and cherished it. She had bought him another, this one being a dark blue, knowing that he only wore darker colors. Paying for it, they left the store and saw him standing with the rest of the crowd.

Joining him, they saw that he was enjoying the show. They actually startled him when they approached because he was so focused on it. "You want to try?" Orihime asked him.

"I don't think so, I've never played before. I won't be any good," he answered.

"It doesn't matter whether you do good or not. It'll be fun either way," she said, smiling brightly. She ran off and bought some coins for the machine.

"I'll have to take off my jacket if I do, it doesn't let me move right," Fernando submitted to his want to try. Removing his jacket and handing them the bags, he waited till the two competing were done hoping that the girl would leave afterword, not wanting to be humiliated himself. But as they waited, Orihime and Tatsuki saw him shaking a little.

"Are you ok?" Tatsuki asked.

"Just never been without my jacket in somewhere where there's air conditioning, it's kind of cold in here," he answered, still shivering a bit.

"Here," Orihime said, handing him the gift she had just bought him.

"But…" he tried to give it back but she refused to take it.

"You've earned it," she said.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Thank you very much then." Trying it on, it was a bit big but it did not restrict his movement and also kept him warm. It was a little more fashionable then he's used to but he still liked it. Moving his things from his old jacket's pockets to his newer one, they saw and heard the thankfulness in his expression and tone, "Thank you very much! I could play in this; it doesn't stop me from moving at all!"

The crowd had heard this and with the previous dance finished, rushed him over onto the machine and removed the miserable boy who had lost. Tatsuki made a path for Orihime and her to see the dance up close. Handing him the coins, Orihime went back to her position next Tatsuki in the front. The champion girl just smiled as she could tell he was an amateur. Looking around him, Fernando saw no way out of his sticky situation. Sighing, he heard the crowded screaming and chanting for him to go against the girl. 'Ok, I guess I've no other option.' He inserts coins into the machine and so did she.

The crowd roared as she selected the song, a kind of pop sounding song that Fernando would have never listened before now. And as the song began, he was able to keep up with her in the dance step but soon the commands became more complicated and so he fell behind. But he had not given up he managed to get within a 1/3 of her score but still had lost. But the crowd kept on cheering wanting another game between them. The girl actually seemed to want a rematch herself. "Wanna go again?" the girl finally spoke. Her voice did not match her looks, being a little slender and a wee bit shapely, her voice had a hint of shyness. Those looks even made this self-control master think twice about what he was doing. This feeling actually reminded him of the first time he had met Orihime.

He shrugged his shoulder; the crowd took that as a yes. Each paying once, she gestured him to chose a song. Fernando had no idea of what any song on the list sounded like, so instead, he let her choose the song.

Meanwhile, Tatsuki had gone to rest on a nearby bench. She never like those kinds of games, they always bored her. So Orihime was there cheering her guest and friend on when an older, muscular teen spotted her and saw her as easy. So he began talking to her, "Hey, there what's a girl like you doing here all alone? You need someone strong to protect you."

"Well, I'm with him," Orihime gestured toward Fernando competing against the girl. "He's pretty tough. He even beat Tatsuki a few times."

"He doesn't look too tough," the muscle head responded, being unaware of Tatsuki's reputation at her school and in general. Acting out of idiocy in thinking that if he managed to knock out who he thought was her boyfriend she would fall for him, he marched towards the dance area.

They towards the end of their song, each were neck and neck even though it was only his second time. He was now in the "zone" and actually dancing, something that, had it not been for competing against someone, he would never had done. As the song was ending, he saw a fist just pass his face as he jerked back as part of his random movements he felt were necessary for his dance. The fist, belonging to the muscle head, missed him but having put so much force in it, kept going towards the girl.

The girl also in her own "zone" did not notice giant punch she was about receive. Fernando managed to stop the fist in time just before the idiot had punched the innocent bystander. "I was hoping not to have to actually start a fight but you got lucky that I missed my first punch. But now it's just going to hurt more."

"Why'd you have ruin my day off? I just started having fun," Fernando asked the giant standing before him. But there came no answer, only continuous fists flying at him. All were much slow to even come close. Fernando dodged with ease, making his opponent look like an idiot. Contrary to what Fernando thought would happen, the crowd did not disperse instead they now crowded around the fight. Dodging again and again began to exhaust his opponent and it did help that he sometimes led the muscle-bound moron into hitting himself against walls and polls. 'Where the hell are the security guards? I mean seriously,' he thought as he continued to dodge. Unknown to Fernando, he dropped his wallet. Luckily for him Orihime was there to pick it up.

After awhile, the other teen was out of breath, unable to throw another punch and collapsed. Fernando could have ended it much earlier but yet throughout the entire fight he had not even tried to hit his opponent. When the mall's security had finally showed up, they were told how the strange looking boy had not laid a single punch on the other on the ground. So they let Fernando off free, since he had not done anything wrong. Or for the fact of the matter anything at all.

He walked away as if nothing had happened. Tatsuki rejoined Orihime and threw the bags back onto Fernando, who did not complain as he carried them as they walked towards the exit.

On the way back, he actually led the way to Orihime apartment. Orihime had forgotten to give the wallet back to Fernando but as she did, Tatsuki stopped her. "Is this his wallet?" Tatsuki asked her quietly.

"Yes…" Orihime answered her confused as in why she asked.

"Can I see it for a minute?" Tatsuki asked still in a hushed tone.

"Ok," Orihime handed it over to her not knowing why she needed it either.

As Tatsuki opened it, Orihime was about to say something in a loud voice when Tatsuki managed to hush her. But it still alerted their package carrier, who turned around only see them smiling awkwardly. After turning back around, Tatsuki continued her previously halted action. Opening the wallet, found his I.D. and a few photos, the I.D. read that he was already 17 years-old.

"He's 2 years older than us?" Tatsuki asked. Orihime just shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh so you guys are only 15, huh?" he said, overhearing her.

"How come you never told us you were 17?" Tatsuki asked.

"You never asked," he said in a very cool and calm tone. "I told you, if there's anything you want to know just ask. You just need to know which questions to ask."

"Fine, two more question," Tatsuki said. "Why didn't you try hitting the guy who tried to sucker punch in the mall."

"Same reason," he said. "I could have tried to hit him, but I know when to fight and when not to. It was more humiliating to let him wear himself out and not even land a single punch."

"Also you wear moving a lot faster when you fought that guy than when fought me, how come?" she asked him.

He did not answer. After a while, he said, grinning slightly, "That's an example of a wrong question to ask. I have my reasons."


	7. A Test or Three

**A Test or Three**

**Author's Note: **Yo people, here's another chapter. And I guess no new announcements so far. So bid you once again, my faithful readers; READ , REVIEW, ENJOY!

After cleaning and cooking, Fernando exited the small apartment. Not telling Orihime where he was headed, only "I'll be back later." This did not worry Orihime but did leave her a bit lonely. Having a guest living at her house, she thought, would get rid of her loneliness of not having any family around to talk to. Fernando might have notice had it not been for the fact all he wanted is a way to get back home and Urahara seemed to might know something about what had happened to him. Though, he was not looking forward to having to explain his absence on Friday.

Surprising to him, Urahara had been waiting for him himself. Usually Urahara was asleep most of the time he worked. He seemed to have something to say. But it was Jinta who greeted, "Well, look who decided to show. Just a day late."

"Oh, hello," Ururu said, in her usual sad sounding voice.

"Come on, there's some things I've been thinking about since you have told me about what had happened to your city," Urahara gestured him to enter the shop. Jinta fumed silently, having lost his only means of not having to do his work, and now argued with Ururu for her to start on his chores.

Entering the shop and into the back room, both sat. Immediately, Urahara had begun explaining what he had been contemplating, "I was thinking if you were telling the truth, and I trust that you are, wouldn't an attack on a whole city be reported throughout the world. And the portal you said your friend had made, could it have something more than just a teleportation between two locations?"

"Both are possible, like I said, that's all I know I don't know how I ended up here. I could've have wandered over here," Fernando offered an explanation.

"But then you would've have been spotted by someone wondering around, probably would have ended up in if you tried to kill someone like you tried to your friend. Why would what was controlling you want to end up here? No, it's more than just coincidence that you met me. I'm the only person around here that could sense the power and Zanpakutō hidden with in you," Urahara explained.

"You sound just like the voice inside my head, destiny and fate, and how now I'm just tied to a path I make for myself," Fernando said.

"Wait your hearing a voice in your head?" Urahara asked.

"I'm not crazy, alright. It comes and goes whenever it feels like," Fernando said.

"You didn't tell me that. Did it tell any information about what had happened after you blacked out?" Urahara asked.

"No, just that there is a reason I ended up here and that I have to find that reas…" he stopped midsentence, almost as if sensing something.

'Damn! Too soon, just a bit longer,' the voice whispered inside his head.

"There it is again," Fernando told Urahara. "It's gone now."

"Did it say anything?" Urahara asked.

"No, just something about it being too soon, it sounded worried, almost a little angry. I also felt something, like something dangerous coming my way. It does feel like anything I ever felt before," Fernando answered.

"Hmm… Do you think those men you fought are still following you?" the shop owner asked him.

"No, I doubt it's them. They would be killing off anyone and everyone, they would cause a lot of panic," Fernando said, dismissing the theory. "A Hollow maybe?"

"No, I would have sensed it as well," Urahara answered.

"Well, it doesn't matter right now. It feels pretty far away, but it's definitely there," Fernando said.

"Ok, well if it's coming after you, we'll having to start your training soon. But I can't teach anything until your Zanpakutō appears," Urahara said. "I'll just see what you can do right. Then I'll build a training regime around it." Fernando nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Orihime just realized she still had Fernando's wallet. Although wanting to respect her guest's privacy, she also was incredibly intrigued by the mysteriousness of her guest. "No, Orihime you can't look inside. It belongs to your guest," she spoke to herself.

"But, you know you want to look inside. Come one, you know want to," Orihime still spoke to only herself.

"You're good girl, Orihime. You shouldn't," the only listener still herself.

"But it'll only be a peek," she finally convinced the only person in the room to look inside. She then found the same things that Tatsuki had found yesterday, just her guest's U.S. I.D. and some old photos. One in particular caught her eye, a photo of three people including him, he still had the serious look he always wore all the time, an older woman, and another boy about his age but yet good amount shorter. It was obvious that none were related to each other. The woman was very beautiful and her eyes were filled with kindness yet she also looked very strong in her stance and look, not as delicate as Orihime.

Then another photo grabbed her attention, one of many children at an orphanage. Orihime inferred that this was the orphanage that he went to when he was a child but yet she could not find him among the many children. There was one that wore a serious look like she thought he would have if he was a child but this child was missing Fernando's obvious feature. His silvered eyes, but she was sure that that was him. Even with his serious look, she still thought he looked very adorable as a child. Even then his eyes were sad looking.

Another photo was of him, seemed to be taken a few years later, and a man. This man made her very uneasy, even though it was just a photo. Fernando during the time of the photo's seemed to be at an age of 8 years old at latest, he was still pretty short. But the man was the person that drew her attention, his eyes were so cold, his frown seemed to be out of anger not sadness and his whole self seemed to just menacing and put off all want to get to know more of him. She was scared of him even though he was just a two dimensional figure. In the back of the photo was some writing, it read "EXPERIMENT A-13" and underneath that was "NEVER FORGET."

She saw there were no photos that looked newer than that one until the photo of him, the woman and the other boy. But after that one, all the rest seemed to show an improvement in him. Still very few of them contained him smiling, yet his smile seemed to make him look so much more amiable.

"No," Fernando said after Urahara had asked him to perform the first test.

"We have to test your strength, this is the best way to do it," Urahara reasoned with him.

"My ass! Don't you have something that can actually measure my punch" Fernando still refused his request.

"Come on, you won't feel it at all," Urahara urged him on.

"No," his employee still refused.

"Hey, if you don't this I'm not the one who's being chased by people with unknown strength," Urahara still urged him to fulfill his request.

"Fine, I'll do it," Fernando finally caved into his order, not wanting to argue anymore. The request was simple, yet obviously painful, punch a boulder in front of him and see whether it breaks or how far moves. Punching the boulder with all he had, it did not even budge. "Son of... Oh yeah, that didn't hurt a bit."

Urahara was mystified, absolutely confused as in why he wasn't able to even move it. While Fernando's hand was being treated by Ururu, Urahara thought about the situation. He knew that Fernando had much more strength in him than any regular human but was it possible that he could not tap into it? So instead of continuing on this test, they moved on to a speed test.

The test was to be against Ururu, as a comparison. At first it seemed that he had regained the same power he had when back in his own city but as both jumped from boulder to boulder, his jumped shortened to one of any ordinary human. But before hitting that point, he managed to easily keep up with her. Not much to take into consideration when making his assessment of his new student, but that seemed to be all he had to go on as once again Fernando found himself being given medical attention by Ururu.

The last test, it seemed that Fernando was going to be able to take before having to be sent to an actual hospital, was a test of skill in battle. This one was going to be against Jinta, who looked anxious to get into action after such a long period of nothing to do. As both took their positions, Fernando caught look at Jinta's weapon, the giant metal bat-looking thing.

"That's not even fair, why does he get to use a weapon when I don't even have one?" Fernando complained.

"Not all fights are fair," Urahara answered.

"Yeah but this is just one sided," Fernando said under his breath. And so the fight commenced, trying to get a feel of his attacks, Fernando first tries to go at it unarmed but soon realizes that Jinta's attack are to powerful to afford to screw up a dodge. Trying to reach for his hidden knife in his coat, realized he was still wearing Orihime gift coat and it had none of the hidden places that he usually kept his weapon.

'Looks like I have no other choice,' he thought as he gave himself some distance from Jinta. When he thought that he was far enough, he reached down under his boot and reveal a small shiny plastic that was incredibly smooth. Then taking one side of the plastic off, it was revealed to be a sheath and the small blade shone. Even with such a small blade, not much longer than half a foot long, he was able to deflect most of Jinta's attacks.

"You can stop holding back Jinta," Urahara said, trying to up the difficulty of the fight.

"Yes!" Jinta exclaimed. Right after that exchange of words, he gave hit strong enough to make Fernando lose grip of the blade. Then he gave a successive that sent him flying into the boulder behind him and as he hit it, a huge puff of dust spread across the surrounding area around the rock. The pain was so agonizing that he could not find the strength to pick himself up.

"Agh," Fernando whined.

"Giving up after the first hard hit? Is that really all you have?" Urahara asked, a little disappointed.

"No," Fernando said to himself. The shadow of the boulder began draining into him and flowed onto his hand, he felt the power flowing and it reenergized him. Looking back up, one eye had turned to black. The claw from before had formed on his left hand but this one was smaller in size.

Suddenly he leaped towards Jinta with almost blinding speed, but at this point Urahara stepped in and rescued Jinta from the attack. Although he missed his target, his attack still showed its power as he collapsed and gasped for air.

"Maybe I pushed him a little too hard," Urahara said, staring towards the dust cloud that puffed up in front of Fernando do to his attack. As it cleared, it revealed huge claw markings that cleared straight through a first boulder and left its mark on a second behind it. "But this helps to show me what he can do."

"How did you manage to form that claw again?" Urahara asked the now fully rested Fernando.

"I don't know," he answered.

"You have to know. This isn't the first time that you've done this," Urahara said.

"I don't know!" Fernando said a little irritated.

"What were you thinking or feeling at that time?" Urahara asked.

"I just didn't want to lose the fight, but then it felt like something else was trying to take control like before. This time, though, I didn't let it," he responded.

"So you were desperate? But last time, you said, you were angry and then you blacked out," Urahara said, trying to piece together what was it that triggered his loss of control and the formation of the claw. "It's obvious that you lost control because you were angry."

"But this time, whatever that was trying to take control did feel like the other time. The other just wanted to kill, it was really evil and didn't care who he was going to kill next. This one felt more like, it didn't want to..." Fernando thought about it but could not pinpoint what it was.

"Die," Urahara finished his sentence.

"Exactly," Fernando responded.


	8. Progress

**Progress**

**AN:** Yo, yes I am reverting back to "**AN**" for "Author's Note". But more importantly, Chapter 4 titled "Compromise" was updated because I made a wee bit of a mistake. Instead of him being adopted a year ago, it was four years ago. Please Reviews are welcome (and kind of wanted). Hopefully with that, I'll finally get reviews! lol Also thank you for no flames! Other than that please continue to Read, Review and Enjoy.

As the days went on, Fernando and Orihime talked a little more. Even though he was never much of a talker, he was a good listener. He listened to her rant on about some of her crazy daydreams she has whenever she zones out and to him it seemed like she zoned out a lot more times than he ever does. She always daydreams at random times while he, on the other hand, only zones out whenever he is bored. Which is why he became so good at cleaning, so he no longer has think while he cleans leaving him time to daydream.

Even now, he daydreamed as she talked but these were a little more sensual than when he was bored. He tried to rid his mind of these nasty thoughts but at same time he knew that there was nothing he could do.

'I _am_ a guy after all,' he thought as he grinned to himself, confusing Orihime.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked him, very innocent to his dirty grin.

"Oh, nothing… nothing at all," was his answer. Satisfied with that answer, she continued her rant about all her friends. Then came the time when she mentioned the new girl, Rukia, and how she hung around Ichigo but the way she mentioned this gave away something she might not known she had.

"It looks like they became really good friends in a few days," she said in an unusually sad tone.

"You have a problem with that?" Fernando asked already knowing the answer.

"No," Orihime answered, a little panicky.

"Don't worry about it; you're just a little jealous is all," he told her.

"But I don't feel right," Orihime said, saddened.

"It's alright to feel jealous, especially over someone you love. Just try not to act on it," he told her. "One more thing, that little speech about love is not mine. My mother gave me that speech when asked her what happened to her husband and why she never tried dating after that. You still have my wallet, you've seen the photos of my mother, she was still pretty young and very beautiful, not to mention very tough. Not once have I ever been able to touch in a one-on-one fight."

"You and your mother fought?" Orihime asked, astonished. 'How did he know I looked at them?'

"It was actually a weekly challenge. If we able to beat her in a fight, we wouldn't have to do chores," he said with a sigh, reminiscent of his home. "Neither me nor my stepbrother ever beat her one-on-one. We did beat her together, though. But that didn't count."

"Stepbrother?" Orihime asked confused.

"The other boy in the photos of us, he's adopted too," he answered her.

"Why did she adopt you two?" Orihime asked, finally able to get her guest to talk more about himself.

"Because I told her if she was going to adopt me that she was going to have to take him too," Fernando said, remembering his past. "We were supporting each other because we weren't able live separately, so we stuck together. They never pay you enough so that you can live and eat like any person should be able to. That's all I'll say for now."

"Why don't you ever finish any of your stories?" Orihime asked.

"No suspense that way," he said, grinning.

As days passed, Urahara had put him through the toughest training he ever had, this included climbing, then balancing on steep and jagged boulders, running around the entire training area at full sprint while dodging Ururu's rockets and finally finishing the day with combat training against Jinta. These battles were usually very one sided because the only weapons Fernando had were small knives, which Jinta broke all except the one he kept hidden under his boot. For some unknown reason no matter how hard he tried, Jinta could not break the small blade. Soon Fernando was able to keep his grip on his blade even through Jinta strongest blows.

But yesterday Urahara added something new to the mix, he tried to bring about the claw that he had seen before. Trying to get Fernando to draw his power to his hand seemed useless; he had no idea how to even draw upon his power. When Urahara tried explaining it to him but that seemed to confuse further.

So now here he sat alone, trying to understand how to form the claw on his hand. "Maybe you can't do it right now," he heard Ururu's sad voice say. "You did use up enough energy to exhaust yourself. That probably means that you use a lot of your energy every time you form that claw. Try to do something that will use only a little bit of energy." So he began to concentrate on just one finger in front of his face, trying to imagine the energy flow and control it. All of a sudden, he felt almost like a huge force push his head backward, causing him to hit it against a serrated edge of the boulder behind him.

"You did it! Did you see the little black ring that came from the tip of your finger?" Ururu asked. Although still in pain, he opened his eyes and saw the small black ring, almost like a smoky circle, expanding and eventually dissipating. It might not have been the claw he was hoping for but Urahara found himself satisfied to know that his student could now somewhat control his power. He smiled sitting on the opposite side of the same boulder they were sitting at.

Returning home late because of a small celebration in honor of him finally making some head way, Fernando felt a little uneasy. With his acute sense smell, something, both literally and figuratively, smelled foul.

'What is that?' he wondered to himself. As he neared the apartment, the smell grew stronger and stronger. Once at the door, the foul odor was at its strongest. As he opened the door he saw a huge black mass inside the small living room. Suddenly, a giant black claw grabbed him and pinned him against the ceiling.

From here he could see everything, including the huge black monster's white mask and immediately he knew he was a Hollow. But that was not the thing that caught his attention the most, in its other claw the Hollow held a terrified Orihime in complete shock with a chain on her chest which he followed with his eyes to another Orihime laying on the floor, and a wall next to the Hollow leaned an unconscious, bleeding Tatsuki.

"Who is this, Orihime? Another friend that you forgot about me for?" the Hollow spoke and tightened his grip around Fernando and her. Then after slamming him against another wall, the Hollow flung him out the window, hitting him against the tree right outside. Fernando's body hit against several branches as he flies towards the ground.

Meanwhile, Orihime is on the verge of crying thinking that this monster had just killed two of her friends. Then to her surprise a young, orangey haired, teen appears in a black kimono and behind him, Rukia. The orange haired teen blocks the black monster's claw using a huge sword. Surprising to all in the room, Fernando jumps back through the broken window and kicks the Hollow's mask, but even though he used all his force it seem that the Hollow barely felt it, just managing to push it back a few feet.

"Crap! Talk about a hard head," he rubbed his foot with just his right hand. His left arm appeared to be immobile, the shoulder seemed dislocated.

"Who are you?" the orange haired teen yelled.

"I'm sorry, could you _scream_ that again," Fernando said still semi-calm.

"Well, then at least get out of the way," the teen ordered.

"I don't think so. I'll fight it," Fernando said.

"I-Ichigo?" both turned around, surprised to hear Orhime's voice.

"Wait, aren't you Kisuke's student?" Rukia asked. But before any answer could come, the Hollow struck again. Both Ichigo and Fernando managed to dodge it just fine.

"How are you going to fight with your arm like that?" Ichigo asked.

Then biting down on his the sleeve of his coat and groaning throughout, he used his right arm to pop his left one back into place. "What? What wrong with my arm?" Fernando asked.

Ichigo stared in complete astonishment, "Wait if you are going to fight it, then at least know that it's actually Orihime's dead brother?"

"Hmm… Okay then," Fernando said, retrieving the small blade from underneath his boot.

"Wait, are you going to try to kill it? Even after what I told you?" Ichigo asked angrily.

"He's obviously not himself. What do you expect me to do?" Fernando asked him, while avoiding the Hollow's attacks.

"Try to snap him out of it!" Ichigo said, blocking the Hollow's attack again.

"Fine, we'll try it your way first," Fernando said, kicking the Hollow away. "I got you covered."

"HOLLOW! IF YOU'RE REALLY SORA, THEN WHY ARE TRYING TO HURT ORIHIME?" Ichigo yelled, almost as if stunning the Hollow with just his words. "YOU'RE HER OLDER BROTHER, AN OLDER BROTHER IS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE TO PROTECT HIS BROTHERS AND SISTER THAT COME AFTER HIM."

"What do you know about that?" the Hollow asked.

"I have two younger sisters that I will always be there to protect," Ichigo answered.

"And what about you?" the Hollow asked Fernando, slightly slicing his shoulder.

"I have a brother, he might be just a step-brother but he's as close to me as any real brother would be. And I let him get into something very dangerous, now it's my job to make sure that he makes it out safe even if I die trying," Fernando said, feeling the blood pooling around his wound.

"While I was alive that is all I did. I looked out for her since we left our parents. That was the reason we left our parents in first place so that I could protect from them. But she's forgotten all about me. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT FEELS? Now you tell me I have no right to take her!" the Hollow growled.

"You should be satisfied with how she turned out! Don't you see how happy she was! It was all thanks to you! If you didn't do everything you did while you were alive, do you think she would have ever been happy? Her happiness should be yours!" Fernando yelled, putting himself between the Hollow and Orihime.

The Hollow seemed to be suffering from something in his head, as he held it and thrashed about. It seemed like their words were getting through to them but then suddenly it shoved Fernando completely the wall leading to the street. "ENOUGH TALK, JUST DIE!" the Hollow screamed, following him through the hole it created.

Fernando managed to get up but he just about done, he was incredibly exhausted and injured. "You have no right to attack her or the home you helped create for her!" Fernando yelled. It was a familiar site; he began to absorb the shadow from the debris he was under. The same black aura began to engulf his hand and once again the claw was formed. After slicing through the debris, he faced the Hollow, "I wonder… Whose claw do you think is stronger?"

Both rushed at each other, both had their claws ready strike. Then in a flash both were at the opposite sides they started at, "Damn it!" Fernando exclaimed to himself, collapsing as blood flowed out of the giant gashes the Hollow's claw created. But his effort had not been in vain; he managed to not only slice off one of the Hollow's arms but also was able to damage its mask. Unfortunately for him, the Hollow was still in fighting shape and was heading towards him to finish the job. He only enough strength to sit himself up and watch as the Hollow rushed at him but as he waited for what would be certain death, he closed his eyes and to his amazement nothing happened.

It turned out that Ichigo had blocked the Hollow from killing him. "I know what you're going to say, 'I didn't ask for your help.'" Ichigo said as he repelled the Hollow's relentless clawing.

"I didn't but thank you for it," Fernando said, falling back down.

"No problem," Ichigo replied.

Then someone began tugging Fernando away from the battle, it was Rukia. "I never thought I'd be glad to see you," Fernando said.

"Just stay down and stay quiet, you're already very close to death," Rukia ordered.

Fernando sight soon began to fail him, everything became very blurred. He tried to observe the battle but he could only see their position during the fight. As the fight drew closer to its end, it appeared that the Hollow had hurt Ichigo with some sort of liquid from its mouth. Then it took a turn no one there suspected as Orihime protected Ichigo from an attack by the Hollow. He could not really see or hear what was happening but soon he was able to see that Hollow's mask disappeared and revealed its human face. Soon afterward, Orihime collapsed and it seemed that the Hollow had also regained its human personality as it no longer attacked and was actually talking but Fernando was already losing consciousness and was not able hear him from where he was.

Very little time passed before, Ichigo came to him, "You, he wants to talk to you for some reason. You have to hurry, he doesn't have that much time left," Ichigo told him.

"You expect me to walk up to a Hollow and talk to it, after it sliced me open? Anyway, I don't have that much time left before I black out, look at all the blood I lost I'm surprised I'm not dead yet, and I don't even know him but I'll go," Fernando replied.

"Just get and talk to him he does have that much time left either before the Hollow in him takes over again," Ichigo said, helping Fernando stand back up. He could already feel his wounds begin to bleed more and as he walked, he felt incredibly woozy. It took him a while but he got there and was now face to face with his host's brother, which in any other circumstance probably would have been very awkward.

"I'm sorry for what I've done," the unmasked Hollow apologized as he looked upon the injured young man.

"It's alright, I'll live. I guess you want me to explain why I've been living with your sister, huh?" Fernando asked but clear in knowing what the now sane Hollow was about to do.

"You don't have to, the way you spoke about her and the way you protected her and our home, I know you have good intentions. Just promise me one thing, my final request, please protect Orihime, take care of her and make sure she keeps smiling and being happy," Sora asked him.

"I'll try my best," Fernando replied.

"I know you will," Sora said.

"Do me one favor as well, I'm not sure if she's over there but if she is, tell my mother thank you for everything, that she raised both of us well and that I'll make sure to bring Tony back," Fernando asked this of him, showing him a picture of his mother from his wallet.

"I'll be sure to if I see her," Sora said. As soon as that was said, Ichigo returned.

"Have a nice day," Orihime awoke to speak these last words to her brother, just as he picked up Ichigo's sword from the ground.

"I'll be going now," Sora smiled, as he plunged Ichigo's sword into the hole in his chest. Strangely, he began to dissipate into many small lights. After fully disappearing, Orihime broke down crying and a black aura appeared from Fernando hand stretch sideways to a long length. After the aura faded, it left in its place a sheath.

"So I guess this is my Zanpakutō, huh?" he asked himself just before collapsing onto the ground. "It's about time."

"Well… now are you going to tell me who you are?" Ichigo asked.

"Maybe after a nap," Fernando answered, fading off into a dream.


	9. Problems, Problems, Problems, Problems!

**Problems, Problems, Problems, Problems**

**AN:** Hey, what's up my loyal readers. Nothing new this time but thank you for being my second reviewer grayearth, sorry for taking so long to update. But like I always say, READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled, kicking the downed teen.

"Oh yeah! That's felt so good, kicking me in my gashes," Fernando said sarcastically, waking up.

"Well, why didn't you answer my question! Who are you!" Ichigo yelled angrily.

"You really don't have an inside voice do you?" Fernando asked calmly.

"Why aren't you worried that you'll bleed out! Look at the blood trail you left," Rukia interrupted their argument.

"Look when you're bleeding out, there's a few stages. First blurred vision, then disorientation, then black out and finally death. Considering I'm still talking to both of you clearly, I'm still at the first stage," the silvered-eyed boy rebutted. "Which also proves something else Urahara said, I'm not human. No human could survive so long with a wound like this."

"Rukia, you know him!" Ichigo asked, almost as if he had not heard what wounded teen on the ground just said.

"Yes, I do," Rukia answered.

"Well then, who is he? And what was he doing at Orihime's apartment?" the orange haired teen asked, wanting his question finally answered.

"You're impatient, aren't you? My name is Kurokishi Fernando. As for why I'm here… unimportant," Fernando answered in Rukia's place.

But before Ichigo could be enraged by the partial response, Rukia held her hands over injured teen's wounds as a dim light emanated from them. "I may only be able to stop the bleeding, you're going to have to bandage your wounds," Rukia said as she continued what she was doing.

"Thank you very much," Fernando said gratefully as a warm, soothing, very pleasing feeling came over the wounded part of his body. "It feels very nice, to tell the truth."

"How do you know Orihime? Not from school, that's for sure. I know I've never seen you around our school," Ichigo asked.

"You can say she bumped into me," Fernando said with a slight grin, remembering the crash that lead to him living with her.

"Ichigo, we have to go now. You can ask any other questions later," Rukia said as the dim glow on her hands faded.

"Wait," Fernando said, looking towards Orihime and Tatsuki's unconscious bodies. "What about them? Are they going to be alright? And how am I going to explain all this to them? I was barely able to get the gist of what Urahara was saying that time he explained this."

"They'll be alright and, as for their explaining this to them, they won't remember a thing. I've replaced their memory with this," Rukia said, pulling out a small device.

"With a PEZ dispenser?" Fernando asked very unimpressed.

"It is not a PEZ dispenser!" Rukia exclaimed. "What it does is knock the person out cold and after they wake up, they'll memory will be erased from the last few hours and replaced with a new one."

"So it's like the Men in Black flash stick thing plus knock out gas?" Fernando said.

"You watch too much television," Ichigo added.

"Hey, it's helping with understanding all this craziness," Fernando responded. "And who's going to fix that!" he asked pointing at the huge hole made during the fight early.

"Yeah… well… about that," both Ichigo and Rukia said simultaneously as they backed away. "Got to go!" were their final words as they rushed off.

"You got to be screwing with me," Fernando sighed, knowing he would have to stay up all night to make sure no one comes in to the apartment through the gaping hole. 

Opening his eyes, Fernando realizes he had fallen asleep when he was supposed to keep watch over the hole in the wall. But as he rushes through the small apartment he notices that everything remained untouched and then rushes to bedroom only to walk in on the two girls changing into the uniforms. A sweat drop formed in the back of his head as the girls stare at him and he stares back in a long awkward silence. Then remembering Tatsuki unforgiving personality, he had begun to make a run for it. But before he was able even take two steps, Tatsuki was able to reach out and grab the hood of his jacket.

"Wait please! I didn't mean to peek! I swear, I swear!" Fernando pleaded.

"Then why the hell did you barge into the room!" Tatsuki interrogated him.

"Maybe he thought he saw the sumo wrestler that blow the hole in the wall," Orihime said. Both Tatsuki and Fernando looked back her in disbelief.

"That's it, I saw the sumo wrestler," Fernando said, hoping for his safety that she would believe him.

. "Hmm…" Tatsuki hummed. "I don't believe you."

She then smashed her fist into his right side, "AAAARRGGH," Fernando groaned.

"Oh don't be a wimp, take it like a man," Tatsuki said as she readied her fist next to her face. But as she was about throw a second punch; she felt her knuckles had gotten wet after the first. Looking at them, she noticed that they were covered with blood. Then looking at the area where she had punched him, she also noticed it had gotten damp. "Why are you bleeding after one punch? Take off your coat," she ordered him.

After doing as he was told, they saw that his shirt he kept hidden underneath was torn, semi-revealing blood-stained bandages underneath. "What happened to you?" Orihime asked, worryingly.

"Nothing," he replied, covering him torn shirt.

"Hey, she asked what happened to you! Can't you see that she's worried!" Tatsuki yelled at him.

"It's better that she doesn't know the truth," he whispered to Tatsuki. "Isn't that what you want too, to protect her? Then don't make me tell her."

"Why don't you tell me then?" Tatsuki asked him quietly.

"I already did, the sumo wrestler did it," Fernando said, grinning. And his smart mouth had earned him yet another hit to his injured side. The blow had enough force behind it to knock him out cold.

As Tatsuki felt him go limp, she let go of his unconscious body and let it hit the floor. "I didn't say that you off the hook, did I?" 

Again opening his eyes, Fernando found himself on Orihime's bed. Taking off his jacket, he quickly checked the bandages underneath his shirt but it seems that they were changed while he was unconscious. Although he was grateful, he knew that they now knew the extent of his wounds.

"Crappy shit," he swore under his breath, realizing that not only did this mean they know about his injuries but also that because his unconsciousness, he also missed his training session with Urahara. "But maybe showing up with my Zanpakutō might make him less mad. Speaking of which, I never saw how it actually looked like."

He then headed towards the small living room area where he hid the sword in a small crevice behind a shelf in the room. As he pulled it out of the sword from its hiding place he noticed that it was dark in the room and for a room that has a hole in one of its walls, it was very peculiar. Having an idea of why this is so but assured that it could be true. He looked towards the wall; still expecting to see the hole but where it should have been was wall, just like it was before the fight took place.

"No way, no freakin' way that's even possible? How did it get fixed that fast and by who?" Fernando questioned himself. "I really have not talk to myself, it's one thing to do it in my head but out loud makes me feel crazy. Why am I still talking to myself? I think I am going crazy, after all the crap that's happened to me I wouldn't even be surprised."

'Me neither,' the same echoing voice since these strange events began occur returned in its same taunting tone.

"And if it isn't the very reason I know I'm insane. What do you want now?" Fernando asked what appeared to nothing in the room.

'Calm down, you're not crazy! It will not be long till you find out for yourself why all these things are happening to you. But yet you still have a long way to go before you pass your first challenge,' the voice said.

"Why can't you ever say something helpful instead of these vague predictions?" he asked the air. But everything went silent, no answer came. "I might as well head to Urahara's shop, now that I don't have to guard the apartment."

"Look who finally showed up," Jinta said in an annoyed tone while he leaned on his broom.

Alongside him was Ururu who was still seeping the small porch. "Come on Jinta, we have to finish. This is the last thing we have to do," Ururu said in her normally sad sounding voice. Annoyed by her trying to tell him what to do, he pulled on her pig tails. Suddenly he felt knock on his head, he turned around to see what it was and as it turned out, it was the sheath held Fernando.

"So, you finally have your Zanpakutō. Maybe Urahara was right about you," Jinta admitted. 

"I see you were finally granted your Zanpakutō. It's time to see what you know about wielding it," Urahara said, pulling out a sword of his own.

"Wait, what?" Fernando said, juggling the Zanpakutō before dropping it onto the floor. Before even being able to attempt to pick it up, Urahara already was behind him with his own Zanpakutō to his student's neck.

"Never drop your weapon in when in battle, your enemy will not give you time to pick it back up. They **will** kill the first chance they get," Urahara said before releasing him. Then backing away, he prepared himself, "Ready yourself, I want to see what you could do with that weapon in your hand."

"Alright, I'll try my best," Fernando said.

"Never announce to your enemy that you are or you will use your full power. Always keep them guessing as to the limit of your power, it can save your life," Urahara an instant before charging him. But as Fernando drew the sword from its sheath, both noticed something about the Zanpakutō that shocked them. The blade had no blade and Urahara was barely able to stop himself before slicing his student.

'Wow, you can't be serious… someone is really screwing with me!' Fernando thought to himself, staring at what was only a hilt.

"I've never seen this before," Urahara said, looking as confused as his students.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, came an explosion…of laughter. And the source, to no one surprise, was Jinta. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, YOU WERE WAITING ALL THAT TIME FOR YOUR ZANPAKUTŌ AND THEN IT HAS NO BLADE!" Jinta laughed.

"Let me see your hilt," Urahara said, putting out his hand for it.

"Why not?" Fernando sighed, putting the hilt what would be his sword in Urahara's hand. He began examining the hilt, spinning and turning the small shiny hilt. Then it seemed that an idea struck him.

"See this small, narrow hole right at the bottom. Also notice how it shines and is very smooth, matching its sheath," Urahara said, pointing out his observations.

"Yeah. What about it?" Fernando asked.

"What does it remind you of? This smooth, shiny, black hilt?" Urahara asked his student.

Wrinkling his eyebrows, he thought for just a mere moment when it hit him. "My dagger? But that's impossible, there's absolutely no way that it fits there."

"Try it," Urahara ordered, handing back his hilt. Removing the dagger from underneath his boot, he began to compare the two hilts.

"Did the sheath come with that dagger?" Urahara asked.

"No, I had it made for it," Fernando replied. He noticed that both hilts were virtually identical, they looked exactly alike and were exactly the same length. Then after inserting into the hole (HAHAHA yes I said it), a small light shone where they linked together. But after that nothing happened and Fernando was longer able to remove the dagger.

"Put it back in its sheath," Urahara ordered and his student obeyed. Putting it back in its sheath, nothing seemed occur. But when he unsheathed, hilt was now attached to a blade, matching its sheath in color.

"How did you know that would work?" Fernando asked.

"It is an old curse to seal away Zanpakutō that are deemed forbidden. How you got the key to unlocking and why it was forbidden, I don't know," Urahara explained. "But it seems that you must have a reason for being here, there's no other explanation for you having had the key to unlocking it."

"You're sounding like the voice in my head, destiny, a reason for everything that happens, blah blah blah," Fernando said in a very low tone.

"Hmm?" Urahara asked him to repeat himself.

"Nothing," Fernando said, avoiding any trouble with his teacher. "Also, I never used a sword before, only little knives for self-defense."

"Well, we'll just have to start from square one, won't we?" Urahara asked, grinning.

'I really don't like how he just smiled right now. It's actually making me a little nervous,' Fernando thought to himself.

"Now the real training begins," Urahara said with the same grin on his face.

"Oh God..." Fernando whispered to himself, already exhausted by the thought of what's to come. 

Days after receiving his Zanpakutō, it seemed that the training was having very little effect on Fernando's swordsmanship. All it seemed that he was doing was copying Urahara's techniques but actually not absorbing what he was trying to teach him. And at the same, the uneasiness of what Fernando had sensed before grew with each passing day. Urahara hoped in being put in real battle against a Hollow might help but Hollow, as of late, were scarce. So instead, Urahara allowed him a short vacation from his training, hopefully allowing his training to sink in.

Fernando also found out that Orihime and Shinshyu had something in common, they both liked T.V. shows from Japan of people who thought they had the power to exorcise evil spirits. "Don Kanonji is coming to here! We have to go Tatsuki!" Orihime said, as excited as if she already at it but in her imagination, she might already be there. Tatsuki had been frequenting her apartment more often for what she said was to keep an eye on Orihime's guest but one could suspect that it was for his cooking. "We should all go, it would be fun!"

Unable to say no to the person who has been granting him shelter for weeks, Fernando agreed although he never thought any of these shows were real. Tatsuki agreed to go, being her friend, she also felt obligated to go. And so it was decided, all three of them would head


	10. From Failure

**From Failure…**

**AN:** Yo, I'll try update the next chapter with the next week. But other than that, nothing new. Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!

"You ready?" Tatsuki asked as she and Orihime both were finally ready to head out to the filming of Orihime's favorite T.V. show. As Fernando had thought, they both had taken nearly ten times the time he took to be ready but, truth be known, he had not even taken any special preparations for heading out. Though he knew they took so long, he also took into consideration the fact both are women and his experiences with his mother. He made no smart comment in regard to the time they had taken but he did appreciate the fact they had made sure to make enough time for even the huge amount time they took.

"Yeah," was his only word in response to her question. He knew not to complain about keeping him waiting. From the beatings his mother had given him for complaining about the time she takes to go anywhere, he found out that mentioning this meant accidentally insulting the woman because she could infer that you thought it took such to barely make herself look presentable. This also meaning that you think she usually is sub-par in her appearance, aka ugly, and lastly, his mother also made it painfully, literally, obvious that a man should never, under any conditions or pressures, insult a woman's appearance, weight or age.

"Let's go, then!" Orihime said as gleeful as either of the others has ever seen her. All three headed out the door. 

As they arrived at the event to start they managed to run into a familiar face, Ichigo. Both of Fernando's acquaintances eyes opened fully as Orihime greeted Ichigo warmly. "Hey, Ichigo!" Orihime greeted him though he was not paying any attention, being completely dumbfounded by her guest. She noticed this she thought that they probably were wondering what an American was doing tagging along with her, so she decided to introduce him, "Oh, this is my new friend, his name is…"

"Kurokishi Fernando," Fernando interrupted, getting very close Ichigo and shaking his hand. Then in a very low whisper, "We have never met, alright?"

"Oh, uh… my name's Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo said, still trying to catch on to his façade.

And each kept up the charade until Tatsuki pushed Orihime towards the rest of the crowd. "Why are did you act like we never met? And who _are_ you and what are doing with?" Ichigo asked once the girls were out of ear shot.

"Well which would be easier, acting like we meeting for the first time or lying about how we've met? I'm pretty sure we would have screwed up the second one; it was much easier to pretend to not know each other. One out of three isn't bad." Fernando said, leaving him. 

'Never leave your weapon behind, no matter where you go. Always have it within reach, you never know when you'll need,' Urahara's words echoed within his student's head as he felt his sword through his jacket, in which he made a new hidden compartment to store it. As he rejoined the two girls, the show seemed to be beginning. The announcer began yell out a usual speech to pump a crowd waiting for a show's star. Worst of all, it worked and all Fernando heard is screaming from every which way. 'This is probably just another fake. Though, it's better than staying and training with Urahara. It's really getting me nowhere; I'm just no good with a sword. But it makes sense, since when did America ever use swords to fight? It's just not in me to use a sword, especially a katana.' he thought, his spirits dampened by the lack of success in his training.

As he thought to himself, the show already had begun and gone to a commercial break. Suddenly, he heard a wailing scream, almost as if something was in pain. Then a spirit, apparently from inside the hospital, had appeared at the entrance. It also had a chain, just like Orihime during the conflict at her apartment, on his chest but his was not linking him to his body but it was wrapped around him and linking him to the hospital, another difference was his was slightly off his chest, almost as if it were peeling off.

"Hmm… What is he doing?" Fernando asked himself as he witnessed the spirit yell at all the people near the hospital. Then as he saw Ichigo and Rukia also watching the spirit, he decided to ask them what the spirit was actually doing. "Hey, you two see that too, right?"

"Yes, I have just explained to Ichigo what that is," Rukia said as she pulled out a small drawing pad from seemingly nowhere. Inside was a bad drawings of a bunny head smiling and under it was the word "Plus" and then on another page there was a sinister bunny head with the word "Hollow" under it. "You see there are two types of souls and as Kisuke already taught one of these is a plus and the other is a Hollow."

"Yeah… I kind of drift in and out. I get bored when someone rants on about something," Fernando said. "Also why Hollows and souls look like bunny heads according to you? They're not even good bunny heads."

"See, I'm not the only one who thinks your drawings suck," Ichigo added.

Then after knocking them both on the head, she continued her re-explanation, "You also noticed the hole in the in its chest is also not fully open, this means that it is on the verge of becoming a Hollow. At this stage it is a Demi-Hollow, but we have nothing to worry about it take a very long time before this one becomes a Hollow. As long as nothing irritates the hole in its chest…"

All of a sudden, another wailing scream was heard from the spirit. The star of the show seemed to be able to see it and had plunged a cane-looking stick into the hole in its chest. "What hell is he doing!" Ichigo yelled.

Then both Ichigo and Rukia rushed towards the star and the spirit, Fernando just stood there and whispered to himself, "Idiots!" But then a familiar smell hit him, it was the scents of Urahara, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta. "What are all of you doing here?"

"Well, I could ask you the same question. So this is the kind of things you do on your days off, huh?" Urahara asked his newest employee. "Wait just a moment." Then after driving the tip of his cane through the back of Ichigo's head, he turned around. "Alright, your turn."

Then attempting to release his student spirit, he drove the tip of his cane into hit forehead but it failed and only managed to know him down. "Strange, although I'm not surprised. There are a lot of mysteries revolving around you. That spirit will transform into a Hollow very soon now. This was going to be a test of your skills and our training but it seems that it won't happen. It's just been a huge waste of time."

"You want me to go and help Ichigo?" Fernando said to his strange hat wearing boss. "I'm sure he could handle it himself."

"No, I wanted you kill the Hollow before he did," Urahara said in very serious tone. "If you can't even kill your first Hollow what makes you think you have what it takes to bring you brother back?" As he spoke the spirit had disappeared, a Hollow took his place and began attacking Ichigo and Don Kanonji. Before long, Ichigo had dragged Don Kanonji into the hospital.

"I'll show you…" Fernando walked over to the line separating the crowd and the filming area. "That I can kill this Hollow and that I'm not a waste of time." Jumping over it he was then targeted by the security that had stopped Rukia and Ichigo first time but he removed his jacket, and sword inside, threw the jacket to blind the security and jumped onto to them then up and over. Then headed towards the hospital entrance where Ichigo and Don Kanonji had disappeared into with Zanpakutō in hand and also disappeared. 'I'm not weak! I can't afford to be weak! No, not now!'

"Wow! He must really want to meet Don Kanonji!" Orihime said to Tatsuki, who was just mortified to know Fernando at the moment. 

As he wandered through the abandoned hallways he eventually heard Ichigo yell right after a loud crash. It was coming from directly above him, entering the room adjacent to him. He noticed a small opening in the ceiling just big enough for him to fit through. But once again his powerful jumps seemed to leave him. Remembering his new found ability that was like power pulse that pushes whatever was directly in front of him, he formed an idea. Just maybe he can use it to push himself through the small opening.

Putting his fingers on the floor, he hoped that since it was solid ground it would not be pushed but instead the pulse would propel him upwards. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well. He missed the opening, broke completely through the first floor's ceiling and hit the second floor's ceiling, sticking to it like a bad cartoon character. He then felt his injury reopen a little, he hadn't fully recovered yet. He also felt himself begin to loosen; he quickly unsheathed his Zanpakutō, stabbed the ceiling and used it to swing past the hole he created. Although not how he hoped it would, his idea worked and he gained a new ability strategy to use in and out of combat.

As he opened the door leading to the hallway, he found his mouth covered by green goo. Unable to remove, he began grumbling very loudly, "Mmmmmbmmhmbmmmbh!" He found that in the hallway Ichigo had the same green goo on his hands binding them together with his blade's hilt in between them. The Hollow was less menacing than the one of Orihime's brother, but from much experience Fernando knew not to underestimate any opponent. His goal still in mind, he attacked the Hollow full on. Dodging its fist, he managed to reach the Hollow with his Zanpakutō but did not cut through. 'What the…! Is his skin made of rock!' Fernando yelled.

It as the Hollow's turn to strike, though his claw missed, it hit the floor with enough force to shatter the floor underneath Fernando. "Why are you getting in the way?" Ichigo asked but no response other than a dirty look. Ichigo then took a look at his ally's mouth, "Oh, right."

Climbing on the monster's back, Fernando began slashing away until he found how much strength was needed to pierce his enemy's skin. But the Hollow began writhing to rid himself of his unwanted rider. Smashing and thrashing against the walls of the hospital causing some to crumble to the Hollow raw strength, Fernando finally let go and had reopened some old injuries but not without causing some minor wounds to the Hollow's back. The Hollow began screeching and quickly attacked his downed opponent, lucky for Fernando, Ichigo blocked the monstrous hand.

"Leave it to me! There's no reason for you to get involved!" Ichigo yelled at his comrade. As he had his back turned, the Hollow attempted another strike at Ichigo but Fernando repaid him for saving him twice before. He stopped the Hollow's attack by lodging his sword between two of its fingers but he did not stop there, he sliced the Hollow's arm nearly in half, all the way to its shoulder. The Hollow screamed in pain, hurting each of its three opponent ears. Then pinning Fernando against the floor, the Hollow readied itself for its meal. But Ichigo once again intervened, stabbing the Hollow through its shoulder, causing it to release yet another screech of pain before breaking through the wall of the hallway leading outside.

Still in the Hollow's hand, Fernando was taken to the roof of the building and thrown onto it with enormous force. Before he was able to get back up, the Hollow glued him to the ground with the same green goo that sealed his mouth. His Zanpakutō had fallen in front of him so there no hope of cutting himself free. And now it was Ichigo alone versus the injured Hollow but before the battle could continue, Don Kanonji came from the roof access stairway, distracting Ichigo who was struck by the Hollow and smashing his body against the railing of the roof and also attaching him to it with the green goo. Though he struggled, Fernando's attempts to free himself were useless.

As the Hollow lunged at the incapacitated orange haired boy with its mouth fully, Fernando surely thought Ichigo was staring at his own death. But to each teen's amazement, Don Kanonji managed to stop the Hollow with the stick that he used to open its hole. After stopping the attack, Don Kanonji charged some kind of attack which turned out to be a small, unimpressive, very slow ball of light which he called Kan'on Ball. As it hit Ichigo, the ball of light exploded and freed him from the green goo. And once freed, he was able bring the Hollow down with one final slash down the middle of its head.

As Don Kanonji celebrated their victory but, as the hollow outer shell dissolved and revealed the its original appearance as the Demi-Hollow from the very beginning of this misadventure, Don Kanonji stopped his victory dance. He realized his mistake and felt guilty about the pain he had just caused for not only this spirit but all the spirits throughout his career. But as he wallowed in self-pity, Ichigo told him about how it is part of a hero's duties to answer his fan. This small talking to seemed to get through to him as he stood and addressed all of his screaming fans, making his signature pose and laugh. But as he and Ichigo shook hands, Don Kanonji said something about making Ichigo his Number One pupil which followed by a gigantic scream from calling his new status a demotion. 

As each began to leave, Ichigo mentioned something to Don Kanonji, "Do you have that feeling that we're forgetting something?"

"Of course," Don Kanonji responded very as he grabbed one of his souvenir T-shirts and rushed back into the hospital.

"Whatever," Ichigo said, just wanting to go home. 

A few minutes later, Fernando, still stuck to the floor of the roof, watched as Don Kanonji reappeared through the roof access stairway door. 'At least, someone finally remembered about me,' he thought to himself, still unable to talk because of the green goo obstructing his mouth.

Don Kanonji neared him, quickly signed the shirt, threw it on him and spoke, "Thank you for all your help, for it you can have the privilege of being my Number Two pupil! Spirits are always with you!" Then once again making his pose and laugh, took his leave. Fernando's eyebrow began to twitch and a small vein in the back of his head began to pulsate. 

An hour past before the area was clear enough so that Urahara and the rest of his group were able to enter the hospital without detection. "Well, well, looks like you failed," Urahara commented to his dispirited employee. "Do you have anything to say?"

Finally freed from the green goo from at least his mouth, Fernando spoke, "I failed this time but next time **will** be different. I'll train as hard, as long, as much as I have to but I won't fail next time."

"Finally, the drive to learn, it was one the things you were missing. It was why you could not learn, I couldn't force you to learn when you don't want to. Now your training can truly begin," Urahara said to him, cutting him loose.


	11. Changing Winds

**Changing Winds**

**AN:** Yo people, I'm back once again. Sorry it took so long to update it's just that this chapter was incredibly long and also very important. Next chapter will within maybe two to three weeks. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story. Remember to Read, Review and Enjoy!

Days after his run-in with Don Kanonji, Ichigo and the Hollow at the hospital, Fernando had been given another day off by Urahara. He wanted his student to rest after days of intensive training that had even worried him; his determination was blinding him to his own needs. He sometimes went without eating most of the days that he had been training but still made Orihime and Tatsuki their dinner but mostly meditated as they munched down on his masterly-made food. In fact, this was the time he rested because even when not at Urahara's shop, he trained on the roof of the apartment complex at night, fighting invisible enemies that seemed never to be killed with ferocious sword swings and powerful martial arts combos.

Orihime also began to worry about her guest. Whenever she looked at him, he looked more exhausted than the last time she saw him. Though he sensed the worry in her voice whenever she asked him if something was the matter, he always responded "No," never wanting to trouble her with any of his troubles. But his answer not only stemmed from this but also from the promise between him and her brother, she did not want her to be worried but he also did want her to know that she could not depend on him for protection if she ever needed it.

Though his determination was fierce, it did not keep him from feeling his lack of sleep and food. He felt himself starting to be unable to even stand and keep himself concentrated on his tasks. Knowing now that he had overworked and deprived himself of food too long, he began to prepare a buffet for himself. Though limited by the ingredients Orihime had in her kitchen, he made the best out of what he had.

After enjoying his food, he felt himself still hungry but it much more calmed than before. Now that he needed was rest, after days of not sleeping, he felt like he could sleep anywhere he wanted but yet there was only one place he felt like sleeping. Unknown to anyone he was currently with; he loved to sleep outside in the fresh air, somewhere very shady and secluded from all noise of the streets. Thanks to this town being very quaint and quiet, he did not need to go far for such a place. The tree right outside the apartment would be able to provide the perfect amount of shade. As he laid his head down on the ground, he immediately fell into a deep sleep. 

After hours of sleep, Fernando breathing had turned to snoring as a shadowy figure approached the sleeping foreigner. The dark creature was taller than the tree and its claws matched the sleeping person in size. They were sharp enough to rip through any person like tissue paper. Its skull shaped masked more menacing than either of the other two monsters Fernando had already faced. It was not alone either four others followed behind it, almost as if it were their leader as it appeared to be the fiercest of them all.

They all slowly neared the sleeping teen and as the leader Hollow seemed to think it reached the distance it could kill its prey, it finally struck with its powerful and fearsome black claw creating a giant dust cloud. The leader Hollow seemed content of its blow signaled by the malevolent smile growing on its skull mask. But to the surprise of all the other Hollows, their leader screamed in pain as it pulled what was left of its arm from the dust cloud as it bled profusely. Suddenly, the missing claw shot out of the cloud and plunged itself into the injured Hollow's chest. Almost as quickly as it shot out, the teen who had also been in dust cloud jumped out landed on the claw sticking from the Hollow's chest and finishing off the suffering creature by hacking its head off with a single slice.

"Idiots! You think that you could've killed me when I was asleep! Your scents are so disgusting when I smelled you, I woke up and wanted to barf!" Fernando said angrily as each of the remaining Hollows lunged towards him. "Come on, four versus one. Show me that my training wasn't for nothing." 

The fight only took mere minutes as each Hollow could not even touch him, each being too big to move swiftly enough to keep up with the limber fighter. Though the fight was over, Fernando could smell the revolting scent of Hollow in every direction. "What's going on? I killed all the Hollows around but I can still smell more of them."

Being distracted by his scattered thoughts, he left himself open to a flying Hollows strike to his back. Ripping open a new gash on his back, he felt the blow more intense because of the soreness throughout his body. The Hollow merely laughed, licking the blood from its claws as dove once more for another strike. "All Hollows really aren't too bright, huh?" Fernando said merely stepping to the side, putting his blade towards the low diving Hollow and letting it do rest. Though this Hollow was killed and no longer a threat, he could still smell the distinctive stench of Hollow in all direction.

He also managed to see a few flying overhead and others traveling by rooftops, there were much too many for a place like this little by what Urahara had said about Hollows seeking high Reiatsu. "Is this place really that special?" Pondering it around in his head, he began to realize something, "Maybe it is, considering I landed here of all places and Urahara seems to know a lot about the Soul Society and Shinigami and this is the place he decided to set up shop. There has to be something about this place that attracts others to come to it."

As he began to move, he realized that the adrenaline from the fight had worn off and he began to feel muscle strain to move. With every move of his muscles, pain shot through his body. "Damn! I seriously overdid it! I can't even without my entire body wanting to give out on me! I'm going to need Urahara's help if I want to defend myself…" he paused for moment, "Orihime… Tatsuki… Damn their still at school!" Trying to run towards the direction of the school, he felt the pain intensify with each step until he finally fell. "Damn my body! I can't stop now! I need to get over there before anything else does, I made a promise!" his words muffled by the floor, unable to even lift his head up off of it.

"Need help keeping it?" a familiar voice rang through the air. Struggling with all he had in his body, he managed to lift himself enough to see his new master's signature wooden footwear and a hand. Grabbing the hand, he lifted himself back onto his feet to be greeted by the sight of the entire staff of Urahara's shop. "So you want to go and defend your friends? But you've been telling during our training that the uneasy feeling you have been sensing was getting worse. If it's a threat, which it most likely is according to how you've been describing it, then you're going to be in danger and if you choose to go off by yourself I won't be able to help you. How is that thing you've been sensing?"

"It's gotten close enough so that I can actually tell it's a person. I can even smell her scent, it doesn't have the aroma of a normal person's scent. It's much stronger and much more distinct," Fernando responded to his master.

"How are you so sure that it's a woman?" Urahara asked.

"Not sure… I could just feel it," Fernando answered.

"Well if you go, you'll be on your own. Are you sure that you still want to go?" Urahara asked.

"Like I said I made a promise to defend Orihime and I can't let Tatsuki get hurt either. Orihime's been through enough with losing a brother, I don't want her to lose her best friend, especially one as caring and protective as Tatsuki," Fernando answered.

"Good answer," Urahara said, handing what looked like a sticker with a skull on it to Jinta.

"What's that?" Fernando asked.

"Your physical body is too weak to continue fighting and since last time I tried to release your soul, my cane wasn't strong enough to separate your soul from your body," Urahara said as Jinta place the sticker on his weapon behind him. "Since then, I was designing something especially for you… Do it Jinta."

Jinta immediately followed his boss' orders and charged at Fernando at full speed, weapon ready to strike. Fernando eyes opened wide as he was soon face-to-face with Jinta's giant metal bat. Before he was fully separated from his body, small lightning-like charges sparked and traveled between his soul and his body, though Urahara noticed this he did not take it into mind at the moment. "Damn it! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Wow… it actually worked," Urahara said in an astonished tone.

"It might not worked? What would have happened if it didn't?" Fernando asked angrily.

"Well… Worst case… It might have killed you. Better case, it might have hurt a lot," Urahara said, shrugging. "It was a two in three chance it might have not worked, I took my chances."

"Wrong! You took my chances! You're so damn lucky that I'm that lucky!" Fernando yelled angrily.

"All that matters is that it worked and now you can go on and find your two girls," Urahara said, smiling.

"We're not done here, I won't forget this!" Fernando said, running once again towards the school.

"Are you sure he'll be alright by himself?" Tessai asked, lifting Fernando's physical body from the floor. "Do you want me to follow him?"

"I have to have faith in my student, if I don't then how is ever going to have faith in his own strength," Urahara answered his giant friend. "Anyway he won't need you, he's strong enough right now to take on anything that gets in his way." 

Running through the roads and alleyways, Fernando realized almost immediately that not one person could neither see him nor the Hollows that were moments away from devouring them. Unfortunately for his own conscious, this made have to stop and kill many Hollows that were already about to enjoy their meals. Though most of these Hollows were relatively weak, there was a great deal of them which impeded any progress of reaching the school. As it also seemed, every time he killed one it seems that there was endless amounts of replacements. 

As Orihime finished off the tentacled Hollow that had attacked her and her friends, she began to fade into unconsciousness but not before seeing other Hollows beginning to gather around the school grounds. Orihime's vision began to fade as the blackness of one of these approaching Hollows hovered over her. But just before it had her in its clutches, she saw it begin to dissipate, then resting the side of her on the ground she managed to see a sword stab the ground and continue to slide, causing a scar on the land in its wake.

Then turning her head towards the opposite direction, she managed to see the feet of someone running towards her. 'Ichi…go?' was her last thought before falling into a deep slumber. 

"Damn, that was **too** close!" Fernando said to himself, panting after reaching the school grounds. Lucky for his expertise in knives, he was able to throw his Zanpakutō with the technique that he would with a knife and, with spin being fast enough, was able to cut through the neck of the Hollow nearest to unconscious Orihime. Though he saved her, he was now separated from his weapon, allowing for a Hollow to claw at his arm. "Spoke too soon!" he said as he surveyed the area, seeing the menacing number of Hollows gathering there.

"Black Pulse!" he yelled his attack's newly found name, as the dark ring formed and the invisible energy pushed the attacking Hollow, causing it to crash into others of its kind. He laughed as he talked once again to himself, abnormal for him to show excitement, "Ha-ha! Man, it feels great to actually name my own attack! I've always wanted to do that!"

But his excitement was short lived as many others began closing in. Fernando quickly picked up Orihime's limp body while still running to retrieve his weapon that was still stuck in the ground. But he was soon backed into a wall as the Hollows slowly surrounded him. "Damn it!" he said as hit his back against the wall. He was no match against the Hollows while already being tired and only having one arm to fight, having to hold Orihime with the other.

"Sorry about this Orihime…!" he said as he threw her high into the air, freeing his other arm and unintentionally distracting the Hollows. With this advantage, he easily did away with the Hollows, slicing each one through the neck. Unfortunately forgetting about Orihime, who now fell back down and landed, hard, on an unsuspecting Fernando. "Ow!"

Lifting her off of him, he grabbed her and stood back up. Observing the area around him, he managed to see a great deal of teens in similar school uniform to that of Orihime scattered all over the floor. Among them he also noticed Tatsuki, who was once again unconscious during an important time. "Damn it Tatsuki! How do you always manage to fall unconscious at the worst possible times?"

Though there still a lot of Hollows in the surrounding area they seemed to be waiting for others to ensure their success in devouring their prey. Lying Orihime next to her closest friend, he noticed them on the distant rooftops waiting patiently for their time to strike. Not liking the eeriness of the cease fire but needing the rest, Fernando took this time to gather up all the students and lie them down in an isolated area in the shaded next to the school as the growing number of Hollows watched his every movement. Though leaving more open for an attack but knowing that it would be easier to defend them, he left Orihime and Tatsuki very close to himself but far enough apart that no single Hollow could manage to reach both at the same time.

Just he was about to take a short break, the first Hollow charged towards them but it was soon followed by others. He soon felt the adrenaline course through him once more and it was enough to revitalize him for another fight. Mid-fight the same uneasy feeling that grew stronger as the days past had spiked as Fernando felt it almost as if something was coming towards him. Almost as if by instinct he dove out of the way of a huge gust of air that traveled fast enough to cut his cheek. Though he had dodged the razor wind, the Hollows were not as lucky as it cut through several of them.

"Hmm..." Fernando heard an unfamiliar female voice. "It looks like I won't be able to catch you off guard." He looked up on top of the school where the silhouette of a person was standing and around the silhouette also had a sort transparent green cloak around it. "I really wanted to avoided a fight, more people are just going to get hurt and for what? Look at all the people that you've already hurt, I wish I had found you sooner. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Are you talking to me? I wasn't the one who hurt these kids, I'm trying to protect them," the teen spoke to the silhouette that seemed to vanish into thin air.

"Which Elemental are you, though?" the voice continued to be heard though the silhouette was still not visible.

"Elemental? What are you talking about?" Fernando asked back.

"You don't even know what you are? But that didn't stop you from using your powers against others," the voice manifested in back of him into a young woman.

He smirked, now knowing he had actually been able to sense her correctly. "So you were the one that was headed here since I got here..." he examined her but she seemed to be a normal human. Her eyes, though, were a hypnotic bright green, instantly grabbing his attention. "Not very impressive... I thought I was sensing something very dangerous but I guess it was just you."

"You idiot! You were sensing something dangerous! Another Elemental!" the woman yelled as her tone and expression changed into one of annoyance. "You may not know what we are but that doesn't stop you from knowing that another one is dangerous to you!" she continued as she revealed, in a rapid spin, a long halberd-looking weapon with a sharp, curved blade in one end and a sharp claw-like battle ornament on the other.

'I'll have to be careful. Her weapon is so much longer than mine,' he thought to himself. To his surprise, she once again vanished. 'What the hell?' Not a second past after that thought before he felt a slice at his shoulder, though he was able to stop the blade from the top of the halberd from slicing right through him, he was still deeply cut by the attack. Before he was able to strike back, the weapon and woman wielding it once again vanished.

"Damn it!" Fernando whispered under his breath, knowing that she has the upper hand with that vanishing technique. He once again felt the same danger from before when battling the Hollows, at once he lifted his sword to protect him from the slicing wind. Though he stopped it from cutting him through, he was pushed violently towards the school's wall. Crashing into it and back onto the ground, he felt another immediate danger. Quickly looking up, he saw the woman was about to strike again. Reacting just as quickly as he saw her he lifted his hand and released a huge pulse of energy, launching the woman into the sky.

Apparently this somehow interrupted her vanishing technique as he noticed that the woman no longer became invisible. "Damn! What did you do? I can't meld anymore!" the woman questioned him. Not knowing how long this effect would last, he quickly charged at her. Yet another one of this woman strange skills were revealed as she jumped off the ground, dodging her opponent's attack, and stayed afloat high in the sky.

"Why exactly are you attacking me?" Fernando asked at her as she kept out of his range.

"Why are you?" the woman asked back.

"Are you kidding me? You attacked first, you moron!" Fernando yelled back at her.

"It seems that we Elementals can never get along. Maybe because of the nature of our Elements or because of misunderstanding but once a fight between to Elementals has started, we cannot stop. Our Elements would be very angry at us for giving up to another Elemental and letting them prove that that Elemental's abilities are better than the ones the granted us. But like I said we can't stop now, what we start must be finished," the woman informed him. "But you've done nothing to prove to me that you weren't the one to hurt these innocent people. A Elemental's powers can be used in any way the Elemental wishes but I'm not going to stand back let others misuse the power granted to them. I will stop, even if it means killing another Elemental. That is no misunderstanding."

Using his energy pulse technique, he launched himself into the sky at her at an incredible speed. Parrying her weapon with his own, he clench his fist, "Then I'll have to beat some that stupid thought out of your head." As he felt his punch hit her, he once again used his pulse technique to launch her into the ground, causing her to impact the ground with enough force to create a small crater. "Had enough?"

"It takes a lot more than that to kill an Elemental!" she rushed out of the crater, colliding her halberd with his katana. "I thought you would know at least that... Look at your shoulder, it is cut very deeply but you're still able to use your arm. An Elemental is very sturdy, even when injured, we are hard to kill."

Though in close combat and with her now visible, Fernando could land a single blow with his sword, her halberd kept him at good distance so that he isn't able to reach her with his blade. With her masterful skill with her weapon, he knew it be hard to find an opening but not to make one...

To the woman's surprise she managed to stab him in the abdomen. 'How did I get him so easily? He's much too experienced to allow himself to be killed so easily,' she thought to herself.

She looked at him as she drove her bladed tip deeper into him until it appeared on the other side; he began to smile as blood streamed out of the side of his mouth. She had not noticed before dropping her guard, she had gotten within distance of his sword. Taking his one chance, he slashed an X directly into her chest. Then pulling the halberd's blade out of him, he swung her towards the wall using her own weapon.

"Damn!" he coughed blood onto the ground. He held onto his wound as he spoke to himself. "At least, it's over." Almost as if sensing someone watching him, he looked over his ripped shoulder to see Orihime fully conscious and standing. 'Orihime? Can she see me?'

"LOOK OUT!" she yelled from across the yard.

Turning back around, he saw the razor wind once head towards him but with no time to stop it, he was hit with its full strength. Though very strong, it was enough to cut through him but it was enough to knock him down and to leave him a horizontal moderate cut on his chest.

"Like I said before, it's not that easy to kill another Elemental!" the woman walked out of the dust cloud that formed from the impact on the wall. Though she said it was not so easy to kill her, it was obvious that she was hurting from her injuries. Finally Fernando was able to see the source of the razor wind attack; the woman sliced the air with her halberd causing yet another one of these attacks.

Though he dodged the attack, he noticed Orihime's scream, "Tatsuki!" It seemed that the razor wind missed him but kept going smashed the wall behind Tatsuki and caused it to avalanche towards her. Running towards her at full sprint and using the all the energy he could, Fernando used his pulse technique to push away the falling debris which barely was enough to make it land very close beside her. Grabbing her unconscious body, he lied her down next to the rest of the unconscious body. As he left her, he heard her faint voice almost as if she were talking in her sleep, "Don't..." she paused, "let Ori..." she paused once more, ""Orihime cry..."

As she fainted back into unconsciousness, he told her, "Don't worry about it."

The woman seemed confused, 'I am I wrong about him! But those kids... But that girl seems to trust... But he attacked me... But I did attack first...' She hesitated in attacking him again, she began speaking very softly to herself, "But I can't stop now... No, no I can't. We have to finish or we both might die. I'm sorry about dragging you into this fight but when two Elementals meet there will be a fight inevitably..."

"Who are you to attack me for harming these kids when you just almost crushed one?" he asked the now silent woman.

No answer ever came, she spoke once again soft in enough so only she could hear, "But I'm not about to let myself die for being wrong!" Fernando once again rushed towards the woman though this time she decided not to take to the air. Instead, she allowed him to attack her but with her agility she dodged his strike and used her razor wind technique to inflict another serious wound. With now a couple injuries slowing him down, Fernando now had to strategize in order to keep from losing this fight.

As he kept his distance from the woman, the woman sent her razor wind at him but he noticed it was one at a time but the distance was large enough for him to dodge each one even in his current condition. 'Maybe I can attack between each attack?' he though, clutching his seeping wounds. 'But if I even make one mistake, it might be over for me. I have to be sure.'

Once again dodging her attack but while still in mid-air, the woman sent a second towards him. Trying to block it with his sword proved to be incredibly hard while still in the air but he was able to stop it from injury and quite possibly ending the fight early at the cost of losing his grip on his katana. Now disarmed, he knew he would have to rejoin with his sword that landed far beyond his reach. Though he knew this, so did she and she was not about to lose her advantage.

She began to attack relentlessly with her razor wind which was barely able to dodge. But it seemed that using so many of these attacks was taking a toll on her as she began gasping for air. Unfortunately one of her attacks once broke the wall above and behind Orihime who had been watching the fight with a very worried expression as she was not able to tell whether her guest would be able to walk away. As she looked up a look of terror took over her face. "Orihime, on the ground! NOW!" she heard her guest's voice order her as she closed her eyes and dropped to flat onto the floor.

When she realized she somehow survived the rubble that was moments away from crushing her, she opened her only to see her guest hovering over her. He had stopped the debris by supporting it on his back. Though he managed this, Orihime could clearly see that he was struggling to keep from flattening them both. Not only was he struggling, it seems the impact it had when landing on his body had made a crack on his skull as Orihime could see blood stream from his hair to his face. Some of this blood even dripped down onto to her as she the blood droplets fall at a slow steady pace from all his wounds. She could feel the moist spots where the blood landed as she began to speak, "You didn't..."

"Orihime! Don't even finish that sentence! You are my friend, didn't you say that yourself?" he said as he held his eyes tightly shut and clenched his teeth after.

"Yes but..." she said before once again being cut off.

"But..." he paused to opened his eyes, "nothing. I don't abandon my friends. After taking me in when I was just a stranger, being so kind to me and treating me like one of your friends and being my friend. It may sound very cheesy but it does mean a lot after all I've been through. This is the least I can do," he said, looking her straight in the eyes. He then saw her eyes begin to tear up, "Orihime, don't you dare cry. There are too many promises that I made to keep you smiling. Don't you worry a single bit about my life. I swear to you, not you, not Tatsuki, not me, anyone else here will lose their life today."

He began to lift himself up off of her as a black aura began forming around him. This aura seemed to become stronger and larger as he pushed off some of the rubble. "So..." he spoke to her as she saw the aura extend itself around her as well, "don't you cry." Then with one strong push against the ground, he pushed the rest of the rubble off of them. But now that he was out the woman resumed her restless assault. When she attacked with her razor wind technique, to her surprise he somehow stopped her attack from landing as she could see it suddenly disappeared.

Lifting Orihime up onto her feet, he told her, "Stay back, alright? This is my fight alone. I don't want anyone else to get involved." She could not help but notice the black claw that form in both his hands but even when he had touched her with them, she did not feel them to be sharp. Allowing Orihime to leave the fight, the woman looked with wide eyes as she saw the claws that replaced his hands.

The woman began clenching her teeth knowing the fight was about to go into an all new level. She knew that she would have to use everything she could to survive this mess she had created. Though he could not see the aura around himself, Fernando now also saw that the aura around the woman burst into a giant cloak around her. Slowly walking over to his own weapon, he did not to worry about her razor winds as he claws could easily rid the attack completely.

Grabbing his katana from under some debris, as soon as his claw wrapped around the hilt, its cloak that created the claw flowed into the sword itself giving it an almost flaming cloak. Seeing this he put his second hand onto the hilt, extending the cloak and enlarging it. With an incredible speed, he ran at the woman who was about to once again launch herself into the air but already seeing this coming, he jumped up and clashed his sword against the staff of her halberd with such tremendous force that it caused her against the ground but she was still to keep on her feet and stop his sword from slicing her.

As each struggled in this clash, their auras began growing and mixing together causing powerful winds to blow even Orihime back, who had moved close enough to still see but far away enough to stay out of the way. As the clash lasted longer and longer, the auras grew stronger and larger. They were now both large enough to be seen by Urahara and the rest of the shop's employees who were still assisting against Hollows in another region of the town.

As both continued their clash, they noticed that their weapons were beginning to crack. Much to their surprise, both weapons broke along with that came something of an explosion that made both lose their grip with what remained of their weapons. But this in no way stopped their fight from continuing. As he rushed towards the woman, his claws already reformed as he clawed at her but she was still fast enough to dodge all of his attacks. With no weapon to attack with and her razor wind technique rendered ineffective, she was forced to resort to only dodging and using her vanishing technique in order to attack him.

Just as she reappeared, Fernando was able to trick her to attacking him in just the way he wanted. Clutching her arm just before she attacked, he slammed her onto the floor. "Dodge this!" he yelled as he thrusted his claw directly into her gut, right underneath where he had slashed the X onto her chest. As he took his arm from the woman's abdomen and began to shake the blood off of his arm, he noticed that the woman was sitting back up, "I'm not dead yet... Aren't you going to finish me?"

"No, I knew you still alive. I left you alive, if I really wanted to kill you I would have aimed for your head or your heart. I was hoping it would be enough to stop you," he told her with his back turned.

"But if you don't finish me off, your Element might not let keep being its Elemental," the woman said, grabbing her wounds from the hurt.

"Meaning..." he said, grabbing his own wounds.

"It might find a way to kill you," the woman said. "That's why I couldn't stop fighting, even after I knew I was wrong about you."

"Well, I don't know whether or not that will happen but what I do now is that you know much more about what I am than anyone else I have met. I know that you'll be able to help me with what's been happening. The only question is will you?" Fernando asked her.

"Just a minute ago, we were trying to kill each other. Now you're asking for my help," she said, laughing as hard she could though her injuries hurt her. "How could you forgive me so easily?"

"Nothing good would have happened if I just killed you. I've learned to give people a second chance. People make mistakes, only those that don't see the mistake or don't want to fix themselves do not deserve one," he said, sitting down then immediately laying down. "Anyway killing doesn't solve anything. And anyways I'm tired out, there's no way I could even lift my arms up to do it."

She just continued to laugh as he lied on the ground resting, slowly drifting into deep sleep.


	12. The Elementals

**The Elementals**

**AN:** Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I had my plate full for the past month or two. I did make this chapter longer than the rest to make up for it. A little OOC on Orihime's part, I think. Please forgive me for that. I hope you all enjoy it and continue reading and as always: Read, Review and Enjoy!

"Wake uh-uh-up…" familiar voice echoed through Fernando's head.

"WAKE UP!" another familiar voice yelled in his ear, which also came with a hard blow to the head. Opening his eyes to a very bright light, which blinded and disoriented him. He managed to make out a silhouette but not any of its details or words it was speaking. He also found that he was unable to lift his arms or legs or feel them for that matter.

After minute or two of blinking, his eyes began to adjust to the light and it seemed to dim down to manageable level. He now saw that the bright light was just the light inside the underground training ground under Urahara's shop and the silhouette was none other than Jinta, standing over him.

"Finally, you're awake! Talk about lazy Americans!" Jinta yelled in normally boastful tone when talking to anyone except Tessai and Urahara.

"You are so lucky that I can't feel my arms or legs right now. If I could, I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to feel yours," Fernando said, sitting against a boulder.

"Looks like you're finally awake," he heard someone say but there was no one else around. As he turned his head in every which way, he heard the same voice call again, "Up here."

Looking as straight up as he could, he saw that he was staring straight into the same bright green eyes from his epic fight. "So you're still hanging around, huh?"

"Haha… Oh, you're funny," the woman said sarcastically, floating upside-down in mid-air. "Weren't _you_ the one who ask for my help?"

"Oh, so you are going to help me? What happened to that '_Oh we're both going to die because you didn't finish me…' _huh?" Fernando said, still sitting very stationary.

"Well, I've spent a day thinking about it and…" the woman said.

"Wait! I've been out for a whole day!" Fernando said, struggling to try to lift his arms but fails.

"Actually it's been almost…What… Like two days now…" the woman answered his question. "I was actually out for a day myself but looks like you already almost falling over tired. I have no idea how you were even able to beat me."

"Hey, where's my jacket?" Fernando asked the floating woman.

"What language are you speaking? Seriously I can't understand you," Jinta began to yell at the two very strange people.

"Wait you know a lot about what we are, right? What did you call us?" Fernando questioned the woman.

"I really can't believe you have found that out. Didn't the voice in your head tell you yet, has it told you anything about what you," the woman said in disbelief.

"So I'm not crazy… You can hear it too?" he responded in relief.

"Each Elemental gets their own voice, it's supposed to help with questions that you have," the woman explained. "Think of it as your Element talking to you."

"Yeah… mine's kind of an asshole. He leaves me with more questions than he ever answers," Fernando said.

"Ok, well if you can tell me what happened maybe I can help you out," the woman sat down next to him.

"Well, it's a long story but it looks like neither of us have anything to do and I really can't move so…" he said before being suddenly hit in a tender part in the back of his neck by the woman. Rubbing his neck, he yelled at the woman, "What the hell's the matter with you? I…" Realizing that he could now move thanks to the hit she gave him, he cut himself off.

"You're arms and legs were just asleep. I was a chiropractor and masseuse but it's been awhile since someone came to for a massage," the woman said as she stared of into the distance as if miles away.

Taking a long, deep breath, Fernando began his story…

"Ok, so first off your friend - brother - whatever, he opened up a portal. Well it's more of a door, really. But he opened it as a way to save himself; these "doors" can only be opened by Elementals, think of us as the "keys" to these "doors". Also only Elemental can travel through these because it takes up so much energy to transfer through the dimensions. The locations, even times, that these "doors" send us to are random but from what I learned they send us to places we need to be," the woman.

"Wait, what do you mean 'through the dimensions'?" Fernando asked her.

"Well, you see… There are an infinite number of dimension that people and others live in. Only the Elementals can travel through them because the Elements exist in all of the dimensions. That's also why we are able to talk to all the different languages and dialects, the Elements have existed since people have. The Elements help translate the language we speak so that the people we talk to can understand us and translates what they speak to a language we can understand, but apparently it only works when you're speaking to them directly," the woman explained.

Fernando seemed to be confused be all the information but wanted to learn more. "What's makes you so sure that I'm an Elemental, huh?"

"Well, first you survived a fight against another Elemental. Very few humans can make that kind of accomplishment. Second, you have a very dense aura around you, the kind that only Elementals have. Third, you were able travel through one of the "doors" opened by another Elemental. Lastly, you didn't heal from your wounds; you regenerated, just as an Elemental would. Normally wounds would create scars when they heal but when regenerated, it seems like they were never there. That's proof enough that you are one but there's one thing missing that's bothering me. You don't have a mark anywhere on your body," the woman said. "I searched everywhere but nothing."

"Wow, wow, back up. What do you mean by _everywhere_!" Fernando asked in astonishment. "When did this happen!"

"Well when you were still out, I wanted to see if you were really an Elemental and the biggest sign that a person is actually an Elemental is the insignia of your Element. It should be somewhere on your body and the same color as your aura but you don't have one," the woman said, lost in thought. Then re-entering reality, she notices that he had his back turned. "What's the matter?"

The only response she received was a grunt undecipherable to her.

"Are you mad 'cause I saw you naked?" the woman questioned him. She received no response. "Wow, why would a man be mad that woman saw him naked? There's nothing to be ashamed, seriously even your…"

"What about my scars all over my body? Did you see those?" he finally asked something that she could make out.

"Scars? There aren't any more scars, like I said you can regenerate, even if you had scars on your body they should be gone by now," she responded. "Especially since I'm here, when you can sense another Elemental near you, your body will try to regenerate faster to stop the other Elemental from killing you so easily. It's instinct."

"How come, during the fight we had, are weapons broke and caused such a big explosion? How come we were able to use up so much energy? I mean I was never able to use so much when training, I couldn't make those claws either. They just show up from time to time," he asked her.

"Well, the power we were using wasn't really ours yet. You can say we 'borrowed' it. I think it's possible to have that much but that'll be quite awhile before we can have so much at our command. But anyways, the Elements like to prove that they're better than the others, so they use us like puppets to kill or, in this case, defeat other Elementals," the woman said nearly out of breath. "And the reason our weapons exploded is that we were feeding them so much energy that when they broke, they released it all at once. Giving us the big boom that blasted both of us away."

"What about why you said that either way one of us was going to die?" he asked the woman.

"Well, an Elemental is left alive by Element so that it can stroke its ego. When it fails, then the Element can get rid of it and move on to choose another one," the woman said. "The reason an Elemental exist is to serve its Element."

"But I haven't been doing anything but trying to get back to America. Why does it still leave me alive?" he continued his questioning.

"I don't know but like I said before, you might be in an entirely new dimension. There's no use in trying to get back to America when there's a very slim chance that it's your home," the woman said, standing back up.

"One last question, what's your name?" he asked the woman.

"Whew, it's been awhile since someone's asked me for my name," she paused, trying to recollect. "You can call me Fuu. But now that you know mine, what's your name?"

"Kuro… You know what, from now on I'll just by my first name. Just call me Fernando, I don't need my last name anymore I can't see why I would," he said to her.

"Well, I really don't care, it's your choice. But your name is too long, I'll just call you Fern," Fuu responded.

"Okay… Whatever, I don't mind. But are you seriously too lazy to say my entire name?" Fernando asked her.

"Why waste time call saying your whole name when you know that I call Fern?" Fuu responded with her own question. "I like getting straight to the point."

"Looks like we need some new clothes," he said, noticing most of his clothes was ripped, shredded and torn, while his new ally's outfit was not much better as he noticed she was almost exposing her chest.

Catching him looking at her shredded shirt, she yelled as she smashed his head against the wall, "YOU PERVERT! I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED BUT YOU TRYING TO GET A LOOK AT MY BOOBS!"

"You don't have any to look at! You're flatter than the fucking sidewalk!" he grunted.

As they continued their talk, the mysterious Urahara had been listening the entire time as well as trying to fully understand what was said. "It appears that they're getting along very well," the giant Tessai said to Urahara who was still gathering his thoughts.

"They're part of the same kind, it's only natural. But not being human or Shinigami, why did he have a Zanpakutō?" he mumbled to himself.

"That's easy, it's because he's an Elemental. We can choose any weapon we want to be ours'. But we can only have one," Fuu appeared above him.

"I know I've heard of your kind before but I just can't remember where. The name Elemental seems so familiar," Urahara contemplated as he talked.

"Well, it might that you've heard legends of us. Elementals have probably been here a couple of times," Fuu said, backing up what he was trying to remember. "You'll be surprised by what humans have said about Elementals. They've called everything from gods to demons and all the things in between."

"Hmm…" Urahara continued thinking about all that he just heard. 

With his shirt torn to shreds, he began wearing the one given to him by Don Kanonji which annoyed him because of the T.V. star in his signature pose was imprinted on the front along with his autograph. He also noticed that Fuu had apparently disappeared but did not care because he had gotten all the information from her that he wanted.

Now resting in Orihime's modest apartment, he found his whole body aching and sore as he tried to prepare dinner for the household. As he forced himself through the pain to cook the food but he then noticed the incredible silence in the house. Usually when Orihime was home she always made lots of noise, whether because she was acting out one of her over-active imagination scenes or was entertaining herself with whatever she could find. She was the kind of person who always could find something or someone to have fun with.

Though he did not mind having to play along once in awhile, from time to time he actually enjoyed it. But today she was dead silent which disturbed him a little. So he decided to check on her in her bedroom though the last time he did this he was assaulted by Tatsuki. He opened the door just enough to look through the crack but what saw was nothing but an empty room nice and clean, almost as if no one had entered it in awhile.

Thinking back on the fight from days ago, he remembered that she was around the fight when it was finished. Along with the fact that Kisuke had recovered him from the after math, he piece together that the strange shopkeeper had to have some clue in where she was. So after putting away his ingredients, he head back to the shop. 

Right after arriving at the shop, he was greeted by the giant wearing his apron. Tessai led him into the back room of the shop where Urahara was usually at, where not only was he there but also a small, black cat.

"Oh good, I knew you'd be back," Urahara said, with his cheerful tone. "Both of you..."

Looking behind, Fernando found that he was next to Fuu, who apparently faded in from thin air.

"I was meaning to introduce you to Yoruichi. Yoruichi, these are the two mysterious character with strange Reiatsu. The boy is name Kurokishi Fernando, very strange considering that his first name is actually of Spanish decent while his last is Japanese. His Reiatsu was enough to make Ururu..." Urahara stopped short as his student began talking.

"Hmm... Are you talking to the cat?" Fernando asked with a very disappointed look on his face.

"Yup," Urahara said, with a huge smile on his face. "Her name is..."

"Shihōin Yoruichi," the cat said, walking towards the pair. "Hmm… most people are usually surprised to see a talking cat but I guess you two aren't most people…"

"In the past few weeks, I've seen giant black monsters that have clawed at me and tried to eat me. I really doubt that a little talking cat would scare me," Fernando said, while petting her back. "I am more of a dog person but I like cats too."

"Yeah… I've been traveling as an Elemental for years and years, most things don't surprise you after the things I've seen," Fuu said as she lied back as she floated in the air.

"Yes, as I was saying… Neither appear to be human but from what the woman told me…" Urahara said, once again being cut short.

"My name is Fuu," the floating said as she floated past him.

"Well as _Fuu_ told me, both are apparently what she calls Elementals. The word seems familiar but I can't quite remember. Can you remember anything with that name?" Urahara asked the purring cat. "Well Yoruichi looks like you're enjoying yourself…"

Yoruichi was rendered defenseless because of the pleasure she was receiving from being scratched below her muzzle and massaged in multiple places. "Shinshyu's family used to bring their pets with them when they visited, some cats, some dogs. I played with them all the time they were there because her family really didn't accept her adopting us and usually ignored us. I know how to pet them in the ways they like," Fernando said as he continued his treatment on Yoruichi. He immediately stopped after he realized Urahara was waiting for his answer and his petting was disabling her speech.

Clearing her throat, Yoruichi began talking once again, "Well, at the moment I really can't think of it…"

"I wonder why…" Urahara said with a smile on his face.

"I had my own question Urahara. Where's Orihime?" Fernando asked his master.

"How are you so sure I know where she is?" Urahara said.

"I know because she was probably near the aftermath of my fight with Fuu, she's not one to just abandon her friend! I know you were the one to recover me from the school grounds, so you must know where she is!" Fernando said angrily.

"You shouldn't be so attached to the girl, you might never see her again," Fuu said to him, sensing the relationship between them.

"What do you mean?" Fernando asked him.

"You know how I told you about those 'Doors' we open, well…" Fuu paused. "Experienced Elementals can learn how to control the places they send them to and the longer you stay here, the easier it becomes sense you."

"So you're telling me that I can't stay here for much longer," Fernando responded.

"Nope, if their hunting you down it's best if kept moving. What we need to work on is getting your mark so you can leave as soon as possible," Fuu said.

"Why do I need the mark?" Fernando asked the woman.

"In addition to not being complete as an Elemental, it may also make a little stronger and as far as I know, you can't open a 'Door' without being a full Elemental," Fuu explained.

"Well if you were looking for Orihime, she has been training with me. Our session is over for today, she should be home by now," Yoruichi answered Fernando's original question.

"What is the training for?" Fernando asked the sitting cat.

"She has very special abilities that she should learn to control," Yoruichi responded. "If you ever wish to join us for a session, just follow Orihime after school."

"But like I said, before anything else, we have to get you your mark," Fuu said. "We can do it today if you want; it really shouldn't take that long. All you have to do is pass a test set by your Element."

"Ok, fine let's do it," Fernando said despite his aching body. 

"Are you ready?" Fuu asked, leaving Fernando in a shadow from a boulder.

"Why here?" Fernando asked her back.

"From what you told me, it's pretty damn obvious that you are the Elemental of the Darkness and Shadows. It's best for you to communicate with your Element when you're closest to it. Like during my test, since I was the Elemental of the Wind, I was gliding through the air trying out my new powers when my Element started it," Fuu explained.

"What will the test be?" Urahara asked her, curious of the Elementals.

"It really could be anything," Fuu answered him, shrugging. "Anything from seducing someone to killing someone."

"What does the test do?" Urahara continued his questioning.

"Proves to the Element that you're worthy of being it's Elemental," Fuu responded.

"What if he fails?" Urahara asked his final question.

"There's good chance he'll die," Fuu said in an abnormally serious tone.

"Hmm…" Urahara hummed, now quietly observing his student.

"I guess I'll just have to not fail, huh?" Fernando asked. Though the threat of death was on his mind, he was still very calm. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Try to talk to your Element, that should probably trigger the test," Fuu said. Then continued to talk to Urahara in a hushed volume, "Why is he so calm?"

"He has complete faith in the training I gave him but not only that, it's the fact that he is not going to allow himself to lose his life before keeping a few promises he made," Urahara explained. "There are certain promises that are very important to him."

Now meditating within the shadow, he once again heard the mysterious voice that has been haunting him since the beginning of his misadventure, 'So, now you know…'

With an unyielding rage, he lashed out against the voice, "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING! YOU SON OF A…"

"Ok, look calm down!" the voice spoke to him in a commanding tone.

"WHY SHOULD I! I ALMOST DIED AND I WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW WHY! GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON THAT I SHOULD LISTEN TO ANYTHING THAT YOU SAY!" he continued his screams of anger.

'We knew she was coming,' the voice continued in his commanding tone. 'It was all part of your test; we knew exactly what was going to happen the very minute you arrived. But telling you would change everything so instead we must leave hints. But it was up to you what happened after the fight, it was your choice to kill Fuu or not. What happened before the fight, whether or not you accepted Urahara's training determined whether you survived or not.'

"So why did you decided to help me then?" Fernando asked the voice.

'We saw potential in you but you still need to finish your test, to see whether you have what it takes to be our Elemental,' the voice said in a very serious tone. 'Are you ready for test? Well, it really isn't up to you; the final part of your test begins now!'

Something began to rise out of the shadow, just as the dark as the shadow itself. It first appeared to be an amorphous blob but after it stood at height of about 5 feet and a half, it began to take the form of person. It was clearly a woman by the shape the chest was taking as well as the face but the face it was creating for itself looked more and more familiar to Fernando as its details slowly formed.

"No… no, no, no, no, no! Not possible, this isn't possible!" Fernando said to himself, began to back away from the dark figure.

"Who knew he was scared of something so…well… not scary. I mean according to him he's seen a lot more menacing things than this," Fuu said, disappointed that he was already failing his test.

Then turning her head, she expected to see the same look she was wearing on Urahara's face but to her surprise, he was wearing a much more serious expression as he spoke to her, "She is… his mother… That woman looks exactly like his mother…"

'PROVE US THAT YOU ARE THE ONE TO REPRESENT THE DARK, SHOW US THAT WE WERE RIGHT TO CHOOSE YOU TO BE OUR ELEMENTAL!' the voice yelled as the black figure began its assault. Though he had the ability to dodge her hits, she was able to land all of them.

"Why isn't he dodging? He was able to dodge me and I'm a lot fast than her," Fuu said as she saw that Fernando was taking a beating.

"Two reasons: He has too much respect for his dead mother. He has already accepted the fact that she most likely died after the attack on his city. Second, he has never beaten her in a fight. He does not believe he can beat her even though he has become much stronger since he last met her, his failure is engraved in his mind," Urahara told her as she saw his refusal to strike back. "This is not a test… this is torture for him."

"Come on! She's not the real thing, you idiot!" Fuu yelled, trying to provoke him into attacking the shadow enemy. "You're going to DIE, snap out of it, you coward!"

At the instant he heard the word _die_, he was resting among a pile of rubble but something seemed to snap in as he got up instead of allowing himself be picked up by the shadow woman. Now instead of allowing her punch and kick him all over his body, he reacted as he normally would when attacks were thrown his way, he dodged every single one. "I won't die here, not yet…" he said quietly as he continued to dodge at an incredible speed.

'This is getting boring very fast… Why won't you attack!' the voice echoed as it seemed to both Urahara and Fuu that the shadow woman was striking much faster than before and her speed was increasing with every strike.

"It worked! You're right, he's not going to die because of those stupid promises he made," Fuu said as she jumped into the air with excitement. "He just might be able to win if he only attacks."

"It might have been enough to tell him he was going to die for him to begin dodging but it definitely won't be enough to for him to attack his mother," Urahara said. His eyes did not miss a single detail, on and off the battlefield as he continued, "Anyway, why do you care so much that he passes his test?"

Her face immediately blushed a deep red as she offered her explanation, "Well, I mean I do owe him my life and I did promise to help."

'Let's make this a little more interesting… How about a little collateral?' the voice said as the woman smiled and snapped her fingers as a shadow nearby grew a black fog. As the fog quickly dispersed, it revealed a frightened, gagged Orihime that was also chained up around her ankles and wrists. The chains and gag both smoke the same black fog as she appeared in. 'It seems that you've grown close to this girl…' the shadow woman laughed as she ran her fingers along Orihime's face.

"This 'test' is over," Urahara said as he walked towards the woman and her hostage.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Fuu said, not moving a single inch. Urahara did not heed her warning and continued towards the battlefield. As he closed in on them, it seemed that he hit an invisible wall but it did not seem to bother him as he began to reveal his sword from his cane. "Okay, now I do have to stop you. DO NOT try to destroy the barrier, that is unless you have a death wish. Whatever you attack this barrier with will be reflected and sent back to you 100 fold," Fuu said, suddenly appearing in front of the strange storekeeper. "Trust me, it will kill you! I've tried to stop another Elemental from complete her test and I was nearly killed from a single slash."

"We have to put a stop to this, if she pushes him too far… It won't be her we have to worry about anymore," Urahara said, remembering his blind furry when he had attacked Jinta.

Orihime's eyes were full of fright as she was rendered helpless and only could look at what was happening. 'So, are you ready to continue? If not we can always give this girl a taste of the dark,' the voice spoke as the shadow woman formed a blade out of her hand and ran the dull edge along Orihime's lips.

"Orihime didn't I promise that I would keep you alive as long as there was still fight left in me. I do owe you a lot Orihime and I always repay what I owe…" the teen boy spoke as if possessed. As he lifted his head, each of his eyes had a tint of red. "I can't believe that you expect me serve such a heartless Element, to think that you would impersonate the dead. That's unbelievably disrespectful and unforgivable… I'll make you pay…"

Both of his hands were now replaced by claws but these were longer than their ordinary size. 'Let the test continue!' the voice said as the woman snapped her fingers again, releasing Orihime from her bondage. As the fight began, Fernando soon realized, though he was able to land many of his blows, with every slash of his claws the shadow woman became more aggressive. Soon he was no longer able to dodge her attacks as she pierced his defense and began to open new wounds. 'What's wrong? Need help…' the voice's laugh echoed through his head.

He knelt close to Orihime as he began feeling the pain from his extensive injuries, his eyes widened as, if just for a moment, time stopped and he was able to put all the pieces together. The shadow woman taking the form of his mother, someone he could never be alone; the voice saying that it left him hints to guide; Yoruichi telling him about Orihime's powers; the shadow woman summoning Orihime into the battle; the voice taunting him about needing help. Everything was destined to happen, just as the voice had said. Everything was connected in strange way. The second he realized this, his anger subsided and his claws dissipated as well the red tint in his irises.

"Orihime, I-I…" it took all his willpower but he was finally able to swallow his pride. "I need your help. Please, can you… help me?"

Orihime was shocked by his request and she thought to herself, 'Why would he need my help?' Believing she was powerless compared to what he can do, she had not even been able to summon her Shun Shun Rikka on command.

Unsheathing his sword, he asked her once again, "I know I'm a man, I'm supposed be strong, independent and chivalrous because that's what…" He paused, Orihime saw small drops hit the floor underneath him. "That's what Shinshyu wanted us to be. I can't believe this…" he paused again, catching a few of his tears. "To think you someone like me could ever cry. I'm so pathetic, so weak. I'm no man…what kind of man cries? We're supposed to keep it on the inside but I just can't anymore. Every time I mentioned her, I remembered that she's dead and I wasn't there. Not even there to bury my own mother… the person who took us in when we trash off the street. That's how I repay her, all because I'm so damn weak! I couldn't save my brother and because of that I wasn't there to protect her! I'm so fucking weak and that's all she wanted us to be; strong, independent, chivalrous and happy! She wanted to know how it feels like to be a grandmother and now because of me she never will," Fernando said sobbingly as he got on his knees and bowed his head towards Orihime. "I didn't attack her because I deserved to die by her hand but I'm too much of a coward to even give her that justice. Now I'm begging you, help me, I'm too weak do this alone."

In the biggest explosion of emotions she has ever seen him show, Orihime was able to see that his entire speech was heartfelt and emotionally charged. To see this boy, who did not bat an eye when fighting against a monster that was ready to devour him, who never lost his cool, whose eyes just a minute ago were colder than ice and filled with rage and bloodlust; this same boy just now broke down and is now crying before her.

Suddenly, he felt small hands grab his shoulders as they lifted his upper body until his back was straight. Not wanting to look Orihime in the eyes, Fernando kept his head low as he continued to sob but as sudden as she picked him up, he felt her arms wrap around his body. Her arms tightened as their chests pressed against each other and his chin fell on her shoulder. His eyes widened as it was a huge surprise to receive a hug after he told her what he had done. "You don't have to everything alone and it's not your fault that your mother passed away…" Orihime spoke in a soft sensitive voice.

"B-but…" was all Fernando was able to get out before stop to allow Orihime to continue.

"I'm sure where ever she is; she still wants you to live your life. I could see that you love your mother and are grateful for everything she's done and I know she knows that. It's nobody's fault she's gone, don't blame yourself. I know it hurts, I know there are many things that you still wanted to tell her, I know that you miss her and it's ok. Keeping it inside doesn't help you at all, you don't have to hide it, it doesn't make you weak to show that you love your mother," Orihime spoke with tears in her eyes as it reminds her of her own pain after losing her beloved brother.

"You aren't weak… you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. You don't abandon your friends; you protect them even if it means that you might get hurt yourself. But you don't have to do everything by yourself to prove that you are strong, that's why you have friends, you can always depend on them," Orihime said, her arms still tight around him, giving him a feeling safety.

Fernando was dumbfounded as he heard her observations and thoughts of him, with her innocence and naïve and playful attitude, he never suspected her thoughts ran so deep. To his surprise, the comfort from her words was incredible and reminded him of lectures that Shinshyu used to give. Unnoticed to either of them, the shadow woman dissolved in a regular shadow and receded into the shadow of nearby boulder.

'You've passed the test, we are truly sorry for having to deceive you but that's the nature of the Darkness. All we wanted is for you to admit your flaws, your mistakes, an overt act of humility. We left you bread crumbs to follow and though they misled you to the conclusion, it helped you reach the true solution. We can read your thoughts and though it was great reasoning, it was what we wanted you to think to admit openly what you hid inside. Seek help and provide help to others, our power is already proven but in proving it, we are now seen evil and heartless, those aligned with us are feared and regarded to as demons. The Darkness has made many mistakes itself and we are ready to take responsibility for them but the first step to this is to admit them not only to yourself but to others as well, to show that we aren't ashamed to admit we were wrong,' the voice spoke in a sad tone. 'From now on, you are truly the Elemental of the Darkness and Shadow, the redeemer of the dark. We knew you were just us, mistakes in your past that can never be forgiven but you've made progress. We want to see how far you can make it.'

As the invisible wall collapsed, a mark began to etch itself into the new Elemental's skin; an area in the left part of the base of his neck was now engraved with a intricate black mark. Though both people observing the fight were now free to congratulate the teen boy, neither approached the scene. Instead both headed an opposite way, each for their own reason. 

"Umm… Why are you following us?"Fernando asked Fuu, who floated behind him as he himself followed behind Orihime back to her apartment.

"I don't have anywhere else to go. And I still have to teach how to form the 'door', so I thought the least you can do put me up until then," the woman responded.

"Well guess again, it's not my apartment, it's Orihime's. And I really doubt…" Fernando paused as he was interrupted by Orihime.

"You can come!" Orihime said with a huge smile on her face.

"U-u-u-ugh," Fernando was rendered speechless but then remembered that she took him in. Without even a thank you, Fuu continued to follow and stuck her tongue out at the teen boy every time he looked back her. 

After entering the small apartment, both Elementals began discussing the sleeping arrangements as Fernando refused to sleep near Fuu because of the test he was put through because of her advice. As they argued over this, Orihime was busy at one of her shelves, moving things around and emptying a picture frame. So busy with Fuu, Fernando did not question why Orihime asked him for his wallet and just handed it over to continue arguing. Their argument escalated as he was still angry over the humiliation he had gone through just to receive a mark and Fuu soon realized that he needed time to cool down.

She then suggested something that surprised him, "Maybe you can sleep with Orihime… I'm sure that she trusts you enough to let you, the only thing is if you can control and trust yourself."

Though, he really did not know whether he could trust himself but one thing was for sure, he did could not relax if he was forced to sleep around Fuu. As he contemplates her suggestion, Orihime seemed to have completed her small project as she revealed it to her guests. To his surprise, Fernando found himself staring at a shrine-like place where Orihime not only added a photo of her brother, Sora, but also one of his mother, Shinshyu, side by side, surrounded by different colored flowers. He was speechless by the kindness she was showing his mother memory as Orihime never even met, it had almost brought him to tears as he continued to stare at it. 

Fernando decided that he could sleep in Orihime's room and waited as she changed into her pajamas. As he waited he thought about what he had confessed to her and noticed that not all of what he said might have made sense. So he began considering about telling her everything that had occurred before he arrived. As Orihime opened her door, he lost his train of thought as his thoughts and eyes now focus on Orihime in her pajamas. He really could not help himself and luckily for him, Orihime did not seem to notice his wandering eyes.

Though he would be the first boy she will have ever slept with in the same room other than her brother, she seemed to be very comfortable around her male guest. Unfortunately for him, the feeling was not mutual as he was using all his willpower to stop his hormones from controlling him. Even his anger faded away because he had no time to feel it as he was overcome with lust. He was a teenage boy alone with a trusting, busty and beautiful girl, every teen boy would kill to be in his situation, he would kill to get out of it. The fact that she trusted him to sleep in the same room with him was the only thing helping him from approaching her; he did not want to break that trust.

As he waged war with his impure thoughts, the young girl began snoring quietly but still noticeably. He laughed lightly, he did not expect her to be a snorer, 'I guess she's not as worried over this as I am, she's already fallen to sleep. Just like that, no rules of where I sleep? How does she trust me so much?' Fernando thought as he began falling asleep himself.

'She's only returning the trust that you give her. You revealed the feelings that you kept inside and showed her that the trust you give her is great because you clearly don't show your true feeling to almost anyone,' the voice returned. 'You should grateful; earning her trust is the reason you managed to pass your test.'

With that he had snapped out of his lust filled thoughts and was decided to tell her the events that led up to their meeting. 'She deserved at least that,' he thought as he drifted off into a deep sleep. 'But I think it could wait until morning...'


	13. Reflections

**Reflections**

**AN:** Hey everybody! No I'm not Dr. Nick! But I am back, I am incredibly sorry about the unfulfilled promise about updating soon... I did update though. So here's the new chapter and it looks like I have some new fans, so welcome! Though it is just an excuse, my classes have been keeping me busy so I haven't had much time to write. I will try as hard as I can to continue my story but this time no promise. I have no idea the next time I'll update but I'll try to accomplish at least to chapters before year's end. So as always: Read, Review and Enjoy.

In a deep, soothing sleep, Fernando finally had a felt himself relax his muscles and wounds. As he relished the delicious rest he desperately needed, he snored and drooled which only happened on very rare occasions. Though he had already slept for two days in a row, his body was still in a hurt state from the nonstop training and the fight that pushed him beyond what he thought he had in him as well as the 'test' he was put through. As the night grew darker, a cool wind blew through an open window and brushed past his face, slightly awaking him.

But there was no longer going to be anymore sleeping for him that night as he opened his eyes slightly and found himself lying down. Usually, he would have ignored as it was easy for him to fall over and keep sleeping but to his surprised he was staring with sleepy eyes at the corner where he had first fallen to sleep. Now wondering where he had ended up, he opened fully opened his eyes. Before he could look back, he felt two distinctively soft mounds touch his back.

As he restrained himself from yelling as he already knew far too well what he just felt. He was sure that accidently waking Orihime up would just aggravate the situation. He slowly rolled himself off the bed, slammed against the floor and, luckily for him, only created a small _thud_.

'What's wrong? Didn't you like our makeup present?' the voice laughed echoed through his head. 'We know that you were still angry, so we set this up. We thought you'd enjoyed and by your heart rate, we know you did.'

'How in hell did you do that? How did you manage to move me?' Fernando asked the voice while his cheeks blushed with great ferocity.

'If we can create a woman that can physically hurt you with just a boulder's shadow, don't you think we can move you a few feet in a dark room?' the voice spoke as the shadows from the room came alive and swayed.

'I didn't like that!' Fernando thought even though in the back of his mind he knew it was not all bad. Leaving the room, he silently headed towards a window he used as his usual exit whenever he needed to leave the apartment without leaving the door unlocked. Lifting himself up onto the roof, he lied on top of the complex, enjoyed the cool night air and stared at the sky and the crescent moon.

He rubbed his neck where his new mark had appeared, though he never actually saw it he instinctively knew where it had been etched. 'We know that it was wrong to keep what you were chosen for from you but would you have accepted if we told you that you would representing the Dark? We know that you know how it is to be judged by your past,' the voice said as Fernando rested on the roof. 'We're curious, why don't you try to make any advances on the girl… We know that you want to but you resist it. We can see through your eyes and you look at her with so much desire.'

"Shut it… If I am going to represent you then I will do it my way! And I don't try anything with Orihime because she already has her eye on someone and that someone is not me. You obviously don't understand you can't _make_ someone feel love for anyone else; it has to be natural, of their own accord. Even if I could that is not how I want it to be," the Elemental spoke back in an annoyed tone as he squinted at what seemed to be nothing.

'Well, that's why we have you and that's why we don't order you around, all we do is keep you alive while you do what you think is right and you've been doing a pretty good job so far, so we'll continue to trust you judgment,' the voice said as its echoing sound slowly faded. 'But if you stray too far or take on something that you are not experienced for, we'll have to choose another Elemental.'

He knew what the voice actually meant, 'Do something we don't like and you won't live to regret it.' Now that he knew what he was, many of his questions were answered but there was still many that remained elusive that not even Fuu knew about. Who had attacked his city? Why are they trying to kill him? And why him?

If there was an Elemental of Darkness then it was reasonable to say there was its opposite, an Elemental of Light. Was the man in his dream, was he wearing all white because he was the Elemental of Light? It would explain why he was searching for him, obviously it makes sense that the Elemental of Light would want to destroy the dark. But then why would he kill all the innocent citizens? If he, being the Elemental of Darkness, was supposed be considered evil then why is the Elemental of Light acting it out better than him?

His situation was so confusing to him and what is worse; he now had to explain to Orihime what he just found out himself. Would she still trust him even after she found who he was now? He knew the taboo people had for aiding those who are aligned with darkness. Though he never considered himself a hero, which was far from the truth, he knew he was not evil. There was one thing that he knew he had to do from then on, he was not going to announce himself as the Elemental of Darkness. At least not until he was forced to…

As that thought passed, he was surprised to find himself thinking very deceptively but did he just start to think like this… No… He knew that he had always thought like this. Keep everything he can to himself until he thought it was time or the truth was forced out… That had always been his line of thinking…

Hours later...

Hours passed as Fernando lied on the roof; soon the sun began to rise beyond the golden horizon. Moments after the first rays from the orange orb began to shine, he sensed Fuu appear behind him and was now watching the sunrise with him.

"So you like watching sunrises, huh Fern?" the woman asked him as she stared off into horizon.

"Nope, I actually don't… It always reminds me of all the things I have to do during the rest of the day," Fernando answered as he pondered his schedule for the day.

"Well… We are going to have to get started with your training so you can leave as soon as possible," Fuu spoke in an upbeat tone as she began to float. "You can choose the time if you want just call me, alright Fern?"

"Morning person, huh?" Fernando sighed as he despised the morning because it meant that he had to wake up. "Before you go, I have one last question. Since I'm a full fledge Elemental now, can I fly now?"

"You're kidding me, right? I can fly because that's an ability that the Wind Elementals get. As far I know you don't get to fly," the veteran Elemental mocked him.

"Then what do I get?" the teen boy asked disgruntled.

"Well, it took me a while to find 'cause you we're so hard to detect, even when you used some of your power. I guess you can passively hide your energy and that works out for you 'cause you are on the run," she explained. "All the Elementals get special skills and ability that are only available to them. Your Elemental will _hopefully_ tell you about them as you keep traveling around."

As she faded away, Fernando slipped back inside through the open window as he knew that he had to prepare breakfast as Orihime's weekend was over.

Some time afterword...

As he finished serving the small table in the living room, he remembered that Tatsuki now always came for his breakfast and not only that but now Orihime had a new guest. He had to come up with a quick lie to give to Tatsuki before she questioned Fuu who she was but that was not the only thing he had to worry about. Fuu seemed not to care about revealing her identity as an Elemental to anyone as she floated around everywhere like it was nobody's business. He would have to convince her to keep from using any strange abilities while Tatsuki was present.

"Fuu…" he began calling her but stopped immediately after hearing a knock at the door. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!"

He gulped as he opened the door and there stood the angriest girl he has ever met. Just imagining what she would do to him after she found out the secrets he has been keeping from her made Fernando want to cringe. As he broke out into a cold sweat, Tatsuki entered the apartment and stared at Fuu who was already helping herself to the large buffet of a breakfast. Taking one last bite of bacon, Fuu paused her feast to greet Tatsuki with a smile and a wave.

"Who the hell is she?" Tatsuki asked, trying to hold back the unspeakable fury building inside her.

Before Fernando could think of a lie, Fuu began speaking in pitiful tone, "Just a poor, unfortunate soul that had nowhere to stay for last few days. That is until this unbelievably kind girl took me in for the night and offered to let me stay as long as I needed. I can never thank her enough…" Her overacting was not fooling anyone as she feigned weeping on her knees.

"Orihime, you really have to stop letting strangers into your home…" Tatsuki said exacerbated by her friend's overly kind and trusting nature.

"Hey, I'm with you on this one. I would rather have her out there," the male guest said as he found himself siding with Tatsuki but this earned him a death glare from the new addition to the household.

"So, you've seen that Orihime is willing to help people as much as she can…" Tatsuki whispered to Fernando.

"Yeah…" he answered as he filled his mouth with eggs and bacon.

"Don't you think she deserves something good to come her way," Tatsuki continued to whisper.

"What did you have in mind?" he swallowed the food in his mouth before asking her to get to the point.

"Well, I – she could use your help with Ichigo. I know you found out about her crush on him and maybe you can help," Tatsuki said as quietly as possible as she heard Orihime approaching behind her.

"I'm not sure that I could help you there… I barely know how the guy looks," Fernando said puzzled by why she would ask him of everybody. "We can talk later."

A little while later...

After the two teen girls' departure, Fuu began her floating once again. "Couldn't you make up a better lie than being a 'poor, unfortunate soul'?" the male Elemental asked, still very angry with her.

"Hey, at least I listened to that weird guy with the black coat. He told me not to reveal myself to normal humans," Fuu said, pouting. "I don't like actually having to walk, too much work. Why shouldn't we use our powers in front of humans?"

"First off, it would freak them out. Secondly, I'm pretty sure some people would want to use us like weapons or worse, dissect us. So unless you want to end up on the news as a 'new discovery'…" Fernando was quickly cut off by the wind woman.

"We could fight off anything they could throw our way. Anyway we're gonna leave pretty soon. They won't remember us. There's nothing too special here in this world," Fuu said as she lazily floated through the apartment.

"I like this world… even if it is not mine. I'm going to miss it when I have to leave," Fernando said, knowing he was not going to enjoy having to be on the run.

"Well if you are supposed to come back the 'Door' will lead you back here," Fuu said, trying to cheer the kid up.

"I want to ask you something about being an Elemental," he said as talk of the 'Doors' reminded him about something he had been tossing over in his head.

"Shoot!" the woman granted him permission.

"How long did it take you to get so strong?" the teen asked, catching her off guard.

"Why do you think I'm strong? You beat me," the Wind Elemental said though she hated the fact that she lost against such an amateur.

"Nope, you are definitely stronger than me. You broke the school's walls with just air! I could only do something like that with my claws but I can't form them whenever I want," he paused. "Those claws are the only reason I won because not only was that wind attack strong, it was fast and you knew how to use your weapon like an expert. I'm still learning and have a very long way to go before I can use my Zanpakutō with Urahara's skill."

"Then how did you beat me?" Fuu asked, realizing her skills.

"I used what I had the best I could. Control, I think was the key that determined the winner. You can't just power through all your opponents," the teen told the intrigued woman. "I was able to that because of the training I received from Urahara. Maybe he can train you too while you train me."

"The blond shopkeeper, he doesn't look like he can handle himself in a fight," she said skeptically.

"You said that it's unusual for an Elemental to find someone that could match their power… Well, I have never been able to touch Urahara while sparring with him," the younger Elemental said. "It would hurt to get some training in before you leave."

"Maybe I'll look into it, so are you ready to start?" Fuu asked, once again looking intrigued.

"Give me a day, I'm still sore and my wounds have closed up all that way," Fernando said as he began clearing the table.

Much later...

The day continued roll on as the strange silvered-eye boy slept the day away until he was awakened by a shutting door. His hair as messy as usual and with half-opened eyes, he greeted Orihime who showed up by herself but it seemed she had something she wanted to ask.

"Yo Orihime," he welcomed his host as he usually did with an added yawn. It looked like the yawn discouraged her from asking what she wanted. Though he thought that she was about to ask her about the same thing Tatsuki had asked in the morning, he kept it from leaving his mouth. "You want to ask me something? It's written all over your face."

"Oh, it's nothing," Orihime faked a laugh.

"Go ahead, you could ask me," he told her, again adding a yawn. "I'm just being lazy, sorry about that. I haven't been doing much lately so I've gotten into a lazy mood."

"Well…" Orihime paused trying to find the words somewhere in her head. "I've been training with Yoruichi…"

"The cat?" the teen asked her, very confused. 'How could a cat train them to use their new powers? Well, it _is_ a talking cat and Urahara seems to know her. Everyone he knows is definitely out of the ordinary so it's not totally unbelievable to think that the cat could train them.'

"Yup," Orihime said gleefully but her tone quickly turned very solemn. "But I'm not making too much progress. I think Chad has been doing better than me. I was hoping maybe you can help train me."

"Hmmm…" Fernando thought it over in his head, whether she was going to be able to handle his training regime. "Alright but you have to pass one test for me. Consider it a trust exercise… to the extreme. Are you sure you want training from me?"

Orihime nodded vigorously as her guest stood up and stretched before signaling her to take this "trust exercise" outside.

Insert transition phrase here...

"Alright after this test, I promise to train you in everything I know," the teenaged Elemental told her. "But to pass, you must trust me completely. Stand right here, right against the wall."

"Like this?" Orihime asked him as he removed his Zanpakutō from its sheath.

"Perfect," Fernando commented as she stood straight. "Now I'm going to ask you one last time, do you want my training?"

Orihime just nodded; there was no sign of fear in her as she stood completely still. Grabbing his blade with one hand on the hilt and the other holding the black steel, he aimed the Zanpakutō towards, what looked to Orihime, at her. Then in one quick movement, he sent the sword flying through the air, straight as an arrow, straight towards his kind host. Though the time between him throwing the Zanpakutō and it hitting the wall just above the young girl's head was less than a couple of seconds, he was able to observe her every detail and to his surprise there was not much to observe. Her face showed no changes, not even a wince or blink. Her body stayed completely still.

"I can't believe it, you trust me so completely... Aren't you even mad that I threw my sword at you?" Fernando asked with his eyes wide open.

"No, because you already saved my life once and you are my friend, I knew you wouldn't actually hurt me. But why did you have to do that?" Orihime said as he walked over to her to retrieve his Zanpakutō.

"Well during a fight, it could be life or death. If I train you, you must have complete faith my training because if you doubt your training for even a moment, that will be the moment that you are most vulnerable. That's why I needed to know that you trust me with your life because during a fight, it is my training that you have to trust to keep you alive," the Dark Elemental spoke very wisely, it almost as if Orihime was listening to an old veteran. In that very moment, she looked at him as a model of experience, strength and, now, wisdom. "Also congratulations, you are the first to have ever passed this test. Most people who have tried to pass my test fail because they run or duck. I don't want to get them killed from my 'faulty' training, so I don't train them."

Both now sitting down, Orihime's guest looked up into the sky where the sun's rays already receded to the other side of the Earth. "So do you want to begin your training today? We kind of wasted a lot of time stargazing…" he finally spoke after a long silence of staring at the night sky.

"No, we can start tomorrow," Orihime responded but then decided to test just how far he would open up after his rant about the guilt he was carrying.

Before she had a chance to ask, he already answered her, "I know you're probably wondering who I really am now, huh? To tell truth, I barely found out myself and I thought you should know at least that." Drawing in a deep breath, he continued, "I'm not human, apparently. I'm what she said," pointing up where the Wind Elemental had been floating, "is an Elemental."

Revealing the intricate insignia on his neck, Orihime stared at the mark as it almost resembled thorned vines intertwining in small area on his neck. Unbeknownst to him, the insignia seemed to be leaking a small amount of black fog that dissipated after leaving a certain distance from his body. "I didn't tell you everything about what happened before I came here. The day before we met, or at least that's what it felt like, I had woken up from series of nightmares I had been having for weeks…"

"I'm sorry for not telling you the truth at the time but there was no reason to scare you with all the events that happened. But it looks like I was wrong, huh?" the male Elemental asked the buxom high school girl.

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked, still absorbing all the information that was just fed to her.

"You faced that Hollow at the school head-on. You didn't hesitate for a moment, the confidence and courage you showed was amazing for anyone," Fernando answered her. "Though I was far away, I could still see the fight as I closed in."

The auburn-haired girl had not realized that but as she looked back on the fight, she saw herself as a completely different person than the quirky, under-confident girl that she thought she was. "Why did you save me and Tatsuki at school? You were still really hurt… you could have…"

"You should think more about yourself and what you want. That's where we Americans have little advantage over other cultures, not only are we cocky but we're also competitive and we go after what we want," Fernando told her as he stood up. "See, I had two reasons: the first, you two are my friends, you said so yourself. I keep my friends safe, not matter what. I owe them a lot as they keep my life interesting, to say the least."

"What's the second reason?" Orihime inquired further.

"That's my secret," her guest answered, brushing himself off before giving her a hand up. He had not wanted to reveal the feelings he had for her that were building up as he continued to live with her. He had of course already decided in helping her win over Ichigo, she was far out of his league but he was only trying to create a reason for himself. 'She would never be happy with me anyway,' he thought to himself, remembering the promise between him and her brother.

And official out of clever phrases...

Her personality completely clashed with his as she was a very energetic, jovial, benevolent individual. Taking a quick self-assessment, he saw a very serious, slightly sarcastic, lazy person. Perhaps opposites do attract but it seemed that the effect had not been mutual. Even as he contemplated the thought in his head as he slowly fell into slumber, he could not simply just help her without feeling some sort of jealousy of Ichigo. His affection for his host was beyond physical attraction, 'Why now?' he thought to himself, he looked over to Orihime who was already lying in her bed. 'I can't stay here much longer; I might never see her again. Why her? Of all women a girl who was already solidly interested in someone else. This is just asking for hurt.'

'Hey I know that you can hear and no more trick like yesterday, it's happening fast enough without you teasing it,' he thought loudly too make sure that his Element told him.

"Can I ask one last question? Before we both fall asleep?" Orihime asked.

"You already asked two but I'll let you ask one more," he accidently let out a bit of sarcasm. "I'm sorry…"

He then realized he had actually made her giggle. Most people were usually mad when he was sarcastic with them; so it took him by surprise to see someone laugh. She continued to ask her last question, "You never told me what Elemental you were?"

Intentionally leaving that part out do to the taboo of Dark disciples, he pondered whether or not to tell her the truth but realizing that she had been first and only person to pass his trust test, he could only return the trust, "I am the Dark Elemental."

There was no reaction to this but he waited and soon she began to snore softly. 'Amazing, she really surprises me at every turn,' he thought to himself as he followed in suit.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**AN: **What's up my readers? I'm back and updating one of the two chapters like I said I would try to do. Since most of this chapter is random stuff I wanted to get through, it really doesn't have a title but next will be a minor filler with some important points. So this your warning don't get too excited about the next chapter just yet but the chapter after will wrap up this part of the story for now. Like I always say: Read, Review and Enjoy!

"My answer is yes," those were the first words Fernando had said to Tatsuki. Those were the also only words he said to her during their morning meal as he knew that the tomboy did not want her best friend to know.

"Where'd that woman go? The one that was here yesterday?" Tatsuki asked but the others in the room were both too busy stuffing their mouths to answer her.

As the two girls left for school, Fernando waited awhile before leaving; a caution that he would usually take to insure that he would not be spotted by Tatsuki. In the meantime, he pondered about two things, the first being the whereabouts of his fellow Elemental and secondly, how to help with Orihime's boy problem. Though the first was perhaps easy to resolve as he had told about seeing Urahara for training and so he may know where she had gone to.

But the second was going to be harder to deal with, 'Ok, so what do we have to work? A guy probably too thick-headed or oblivious to see a ten in front of him. A girl who is too innocent to realize what kind of body she has and she can use it. This isn't going to be as hard as I thought hopefully, all we have to do is show her how to use those weapons of mass distraction of hers but that's not the only thing she's got going for her. She has a very beautiful face and hair and a personality to match. With all that it really shouldn't take much for her to win him over.' He nodded to himself contently, and then gave a grin, 'You really are one lucky bastard Ichigo. You better appreciate her.'

'We still don't understand why you just don't take her? If only for a single night,' the voice returned once again.

'Look if I ever get in relationship with someone, I want to be in it for the long haul. I don't believe in one night stands. First off, I'm on the run with no guarantee that I'll come back, whether because I can't find my way back or because I won't make it through this. I can't just leave her here with that thought if I did somehow manage to make her fall for me. Second, I don't want to make her fall for me, if she does fall for me it is because she did it on her own. I not act differently and make her fall in love with a person that isn't me, I don't want her love unless it's for me and who I am,' the young Elemental thought.

'Not the usual kind of teen, are you kid?' the voice asked.

'Isn't that one of the reasons you chose me?' he grinned to himself again as he left out the window in the room.

A few hours...

Arriving at the small shop, he saw Jinta talking to himself about an imaginary baseball game where there were two outs, base loaded, bottom of the ninth and he was up at bat with all the hopes of winning the game resting in him hitting a homerun. Right before he swung his giant

"Hey, where's Urahara?" he said while the red-headed boy pick himself up with a vein bulging from his head.

"What's the matter with you?" he yelled then recomposed himself. "Well I guess I shouldn't too mad you. Thanks to you mentioning that woman to Urahara, she's done all of my work. I don't even have to trick Ururu into doing it for me."

"Ok, that still doesn't answer my question," he told the smiling child.

"Where do you think?" Jinta answered very rudely, the usual way he addressed Fernando. "Underground, training that woman."

Making his way down the long ladders, Fernando was actually able to hear Urahara giving commands in unordinary stern voice, "Again!" Then followed a feminine grunt, "Again!"

Another grunt followed, "Again!" And yet another grunt but this time a thud and coarse gasping followed. "Better but you still can't guide it very well. If you learn to guide it then you're attack will much more dangerous and useful. It already has the power you just need to the control over it. It is an attack you'll need if you want to survive because though very fast, there's not much power in those arms of yours."

"Now I… know… why you… were… so tired," Fuu said between gasps as Fernando approached.

"Looks like this one doesn't have as much stamina as you, huh? She's already tired out," the blond shopkeeper said as stared at the gasping girl lying on the floor. "Are you ready to start again?"

"Well, I was actually hoping to learn about the opening 'Doors' from her," the young student said, also staring at the exhausted woman on the floor. "But looks like she's out of it."

"It… isn't… gon…gonna… take… that long… to… teach… you," Fuu paused, trying to control her breathing. "Maybe… a day… or two."

"So that means it's up to you to decide when you will leave," Urahara said to his young apprentice. "You can learn then leave the next day."

"I'm guessing maybe a week longer here," Fernando said, thinking hard, trying to estimate the amount of energy he leaves the longer he stays. "Maybe two but that might be pushing it."

"Do you think that'll give you all the time you need to finish things here?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Hopefully, there are just a few more loose ends here and a couple of good-bye's," the teenage boy responded.

"Do you think you can return?" Urahara asked.

"Why? Do you need me back?" Fernando asked his master.

"If things don't go as planned, I may need you back," Urahara said quietly. "By then, I'm sure that you'll have had more training and experience. You'll be my insurance."

"If you want me to help you, then you'll have to tell me with what. I can't just blindly volunteer on something," his student responded, knowing that his master a plan that was at risk of being ruined.

"Hmm…" Urahara paused to consider telling him. A long silence followed with Urahara to his back to his student. It almost seemed as if time stopped with no movement happening between the three people in the room. Finally, it seemed that the shopkeeper had decide, "Fine, I'll tell you but you must come back within about a couple of weeks from now."

"That's manageable," the young man said.

"That all depends," Fuu finally managed to catch her breath. "Time flows differently in all the different worlds and dimensions."

Both males stayed quiet, creating an awkward silence that Fuu finally detected. "Oh, ok. I get it…" the woman left, fading away from sight.

"You see Rukia, the shinigami from the Soul Society, is also on the run and she asked for a Reiatsu Concealing Gigai, like my own," Urahara was stopped by his student.

"Wait, what's a Gigai?" Fernando asked.

"An artificial body made to host a soul. I didn't not give her exactly what she asked for instead I gave her a Gigai that would slowly turn her human, eliminating her Reiatsu completely. She is still undetectable but I gave her this Gigai to hide something much more danger within it, the Hōgyoku. Something that have been trying to destroy since I have created it," Urahara paused once again.

"She doesn't know this, does she? Who exactly is chasing her?" Fernando asked him.

"No, she doesn't. I was hoping that it could work but since our little incident with the Hollows appearing all over Karakura, the Soul Society seems to taking a look into this small town. With an eye on here, it will only be a matter of time before they find her and the process of her bonding with the Gigai is not nearly complete. She has committed a crime against the Soul Society and they will send agents to come retrieve her and I can't let myself get directly involved. No one here is strong enough to stop anyone of a seated rank other than myself and Tessai. They will succeed in getting her to their detainment center to await execution but with her making friends with that Ichigo and I can predict that he'll want to save her but he will first have to train, which I'll gladly help in," Urahara said, hiding a smile with a fan he apparently pulled from nowhere.

"You are one sadistic man, Urahara. You're going to put that poor kid through hell like us. He really doesn't know what he's in for," his current trainee commented.

"What can I say? I love helping people," Urahara said, still hiding behind his fan.

"And I'm your trump card for this little rescue, huh? You're expecting me to risk my life to save a girl I barely know because of something you've done wrong?" Fernando asked angrily, leaving Urahara with a bit of shame on his face. He quickly changed his tone, "Of course, I'll do it. You're my master; I have to do what you ask. 'What can I say? I love helping people.'"

"So you will help me?" Urahara asked him in disbelief that someone would trust a person who committed such deceitful acts to cover up a mistake he made.

"I've made a lot worse mistakes, if I can help someone out with theirs then I will," Fernando said to his master. "I have my own reasons for helping out as well. Orihime with her new found powers will be training even harder to help her crush to save Rukia and I've made a promise to keep her safe which I will be keeping. She won't abandon her friends either, which Rukia has been slowly becoming one for her. But I have other reasons too."

"I'm pretty sure I can guess at one of them," Urahara stated with a perverted smile coming across his face. "Ah! How great it is to be young and in love?"

"Shut up!" his young apprentice said a blush coming over his face, though it was unknown from what it was, of anger or embarrassment.

"It is perfectly natural for kids your age," he said with the same smile on his face. He quickly changed to a much more serious tone, "What is it that you have done that is so unforgivable that you can't forget? You seem to always have it in the back of your mind that you aren't worth as much as others."

"Do you really want to know? Would you treat me the same way if I told you? Would you trust me if I told you the truth of who I was?" the silvered-boy asked his master.

"You haven't done anything that I have never seen already," Urahara simply responded.

"All right then since you did tell me your secret, it's only fair…" Fernando said as he began tale from his earliest memory.

A prologue, long interesting story with intriguing twists and epilogue later...

"You did seem to be a lot more mature for your age than most," Urahara after hearing the origins of his student. "I had my theories about how you got to be the way you are."

His master not being too moved by his story, Fernando could not help but ask the age old question that plagues philosophers, "Why? Why aren't you surprised?"

"Back when I was part of the Gotei 13, I was also part of a kind of joint organization called Onmitsukidō. Our jobs included many things, from assassination to abduction to reconnaissance. Like I said, you haven't done anything that I haven't already seen. And I trust that both can keep quiet about each other's secret," Urahara said calmly. "Now we've wasted too much time already, let's begin your training before the day's out."

"Yeah, of course," his young student smiled, finally having nothing hidden from at least his teacher.

Urahara lingered in his spot a bit longer, talking to himself in a hushed voice and an evil smile across his face, "Too bad for him, I know a couple of secrets of his and he only knows one of mine. I never said which I would keep. Maybe I should tell Yoruichi about one, she's training Orihime right now."

"I heard that Urahara," Fernando said, surprising Urahara. "You do that and I'll tell Yoruichi about the pictures of her!"

"Has his hearing gotten better?" Urahara wondered as he never thought he would have heard from such a distance in a low voice. "Wait, how did he know about those?"

Once again, the same scene after each training session with Urahara, Fernando found himself on his hands and knees, sweating and panting for air.

"It seems you've a small boost to you strength and speed since the last time," Urahara commented, though it seemed that it still did not matter as he was not in the least bit winded after their sparring.

"Yup! It happens whenever one of us kills, well in his case, beats a new Elemental! Since he did technically beat me, it happened!" Fuu returned with a big smile on her face, once again appearing out of thin air.

"Why… are you… so happy?" the younger Elemental asked.

"I just ate lunch," Fuu said, patting her unnoticeably bloated stomach.

"You're going have to work that off," Urahara said. "Two days of sweeping the shop."

"Wait… what?" Fuu asked.

"That is why I don't stay here," Fernando said, catching his breath. "He makes you pay for everything you eat."

"I'm just a business man," Urahara said, hiding his face yet again with the mysteriously appearing fan. "Also, there are some questions I need answered."

"No! I'm not answering unless you drop the charges!" a pouting Fuu yelled, turning her back to the blond shopkeeper.

"I'll lower it to one day of sweeping," Urahara bargained with her.

"Deal! What are they?" Fuu asked.

"First of all, these 'Doors' you are talking about, what do they look like? Can non-Elementals travel through them?" the shopkeeper asked.

"As far as I know normal people would probably die if they tried going through them. And as for how it looks like, it's would be better if I showed you," the floating woman answered before closing her eyes and concentrating. "HO!" and with that she swung her right hand and opened a rectangular portal floating alongside with her. It was almost like a vortex of a purplish-bluish black tint. "There you go! Ta-da!"

"That wasn't how Tony opened it," Fernando commented, though the swirling vortex seemed vaguely familiar.

"How long will it stay there?" Urahara asked.

"You know what? I actually don't know," Fuu said as she rubbed her chin. "Probably 'til I go in I guess."

"Well, at least it will give me time to examine it," Urahara as he jumped up into the air and just stood there.

"Just don't touch it," Fuu warned him. "Like I said, it'll probably kill you."

"Last two questions, why was it so hard for his soul to escape his body? And why does his Zanpakutō come to him and why does it have a physical form? All Zanpakutō are spiritual weapon and don't have a physical form yet his does," Urahara questioned Fuu as he examined the recently opened portal.

"Well, the first question is easy. You see Elementals aren't supposed to be separated from their bodies 'cause while in our bodies, we regenerate injuries and energy a lot quicker. So when we're injured or running out of steam, it gets harder to knock us out of our body. And considering it was his first transferring dimensions, he must have been running low on energy," Fuu explained. "The first few times traveling through the 'Doors' really takes it right out of you. It gets easier the more you do it. As for the second, our weapon is bound to us and so it's always with us, we just got to reach for it. Since we do spend most of our time in our bodies, we need our weapon to defend ourselves and so if the weapon we chose only has a certain form then our Element creates the other forms for us. Pretty cool and useful, if you ask me."

"You Elementals are very… unique," Urahara finally said, struggling to find a word to do them justice. Floating around the portal, Urahara continued carefully every detail of the portal, taking mental notes.

With that both Elementals took their leave, both headed outside where a nice, cool breeze blew in the shop. "Nice, huh? There are other little things that Elementals get," the female Elemental said.

"What are you talking about?" the teen boy asked.

"The breeze, don't you feel it?" the woman smiled.

"You can't expect me to believe you get your own breeze?" the teen asked her.

"Yeah, once in awhile," she answered. "Yeah, just like the shadows follow you as you walk past them."

"What?" the silvered-eyed Elemental asked very confused.

"Look," she said, pointing behind him. "Your shadow is even darker than all the other ones."

Looking at the shades on the ground, Fernando quickly saw that all the shadows of the nearby buildings seem to be stretching towards him, attaching themselves to his own shadow. As he walked, some of the shadows went back to their regular places while others began stretching towards him. As Fuu had also pointed out, he also noticed his shadow was a few shades darker than the ones attaching themselves to it, very strange but interesting side effects to being the Elemental of Darkness indeed.

"Aren't a bit nervous about me being the Dark Elemental?" he asked the woman. "Don't you think that I could turn on you any moment? Don't you think I'm evil?"

"Well, Elementals decide how to use their powers. Humans are very closed-minded when it comes to the different Elements but it all depends on how the Elementals use their powers," the woman as she floated a few inches off the floor as to not draw attention to herself. "That's what makes an Elemental good or bad. Then again, Elementals have to listen to their Element so maybe some of the Elements are more evil than others. Do you think you're supposed evil? I mean I know representing the dark is thought to be bad by humans but... I would get why you still think like them."

"Why do you talk about people like so much different than us? They really aren't," Fernando answered her. "We're a lot alike still and we were humans after all. Though I was never that close-minded to think things or people are determined by their past, I wouldn't have to made it this far if I was. To have to take in so much in so little time, I mean it is really hard but I've learned to adjust pretty quickly to the different situation. That still doesn't make it easy, to learn that I'm not human, that I'm being hunted, that my mother is most likely dead. With all the unknowns on top of that, not knowing whether Tony is ok, whether I'll survive through this, whether I'll ever make it back home, whether, after I leave, I will ever see... never mind. Point is it's becoming a bit overwhelming for me."

"You mean that girl you're living with right now, don't you?" Fuu said, knowing all too well the answer.

"Yes, I do," the teen answered her, ashamed to admit his affections towards his host.

"I learned that a long time ago to not get too close to people," the woman said. "It just hurts that much more when you say good-bye."

"That's where you're wrong because it is a hell of a lot better than being lonely all your life," the teen said. "Even just the hope of seeing them again is good enough."

"How?" the woman asked.

"Sometimes hoping for something better is the only thing drives you on to the next day," the young Elemental said. "To tell the truth, that's the only keeping me from sinking into depression."

"Why would you get depressed for?" the Wind Elemental asked intrigued.

"I lost my mother, my brother, my home, my entire life in a single day. How would you feel?" the silvered-eyed boy asked angrily back, walking quickly away.

"I do know how it feels," the woman left alone said to herself.

A short walk later...

"Are you ready?" Fernando asked his host, looking at her as she finished her dinner. With a nod from her, he led her out onto the roof where they we're mostly out of sight. "The first thing you will learn from me is my defensive abilities, and then it's on to counterattacks, and finally the offensive. First from the defensive is dodging, you are going to learn how to dodge exactly like me."

"Like you?" Orihime asked in disbelief. From what she had seen from him, his dodging ability seemed inhuman.

"Yes, just as fast and just the way I do. Dodging is the best defense someone can have because if done correctly, you will take no damage from your enemies' attacks, no matter how strong," the teen boy stated.

"Why are you teaching offensive last?" Orihime asked curiously. "Tatsuki always taught me that Karate focuses a lot more on offensive."

"That is why I can beat her easily. I know in total six martial arts combining each ones' strengths to create my own style of fighting," he answered. "Many people who learn Karate focus on offensive ability, the art itself doesn't prefer one over the other, and forget the counterattacks and defensive capabilities it offers. Making it easy to counter most of these people, that is one reason I teach this first. The second reason is the fact that martial arts are for self-defense purposes. A wise man or, in this case, woman doesn't look for a fight. Instead, most fights can be escaped or prevented. Save your energy for fight that are necessary. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should."

"But didn't you say that you like to fight?" Orihime asked confused over his almost contradicting statements.

"Yes but I don't go out looking for fights," Fernando answered. "Risking your health unnecessarily is an idiot's move. Stand back and observe the situation before resorting to attacking your opponent."

"Which kind of martial arts do you know?" Orihime asked, intrigued in how he, being so young, mastered so many martial arts.

"We've wasted enough time so I won't go into specifics," Fernando's voice grew sterner. "First off there's Karate, then Aikido, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do and Krav Maga."

"Are you going to teach me all of those?" the auburn-haired girl asked.

"No," he shook his head. "I didn't say that I am going to teach you how to fight like me. You are going to learn my hybrid style of fighting. It combines elements from each not all at the same time but as a whole."

"So, what are we going to do first?" Orihime asked.

"The basic are first but since we're limited on our time, I'm going have to speed train," he told his student. "Focus, flexibility and other mental aspects. To begin, never predict a fight's outcome; keep in mind that anything can happen between the beginning of the fight and the end. Mentally fortify yourself, don't let your enemy get in your head. Make sure to take into account your surroundings, use them to your advantage or at least make it so that your enemy doesn't use it against you. Anything could happen during a fight, you always have a chance of winning remember that but at the same time your enemy always has a chance to win as well, never underestimate them. If they realize you underestimated them, they will catch you off guard."

Orihime just nodded, trying to take in everything as he said it.

"How much has Tatsuki taught you?" her teacher asked.

"Well..." was the only word Orihime was able get out before her instructor stopped a punch just as the back of his hand touched her nose. But just as quickly, he swept her off her feet and proceeded to catch her with both hands in the same movement. The teen girl looked with wide brown eyes of amazement at the brilliant speed and agility.

"I thought she would have taught you to keep your guard up at all time during training," Fernando said, looking back into her eyes without the usual awkwardness he would fell for being so close to her. "Never let your guard down during a fight, no matter what. Focus is one of the most important aspects of fighting; keeping your mind from wandering helps every other aspect that is why you must practice your dodging and blocking until you never have to think about it."

"How long will that take?" Orihime asked.

"Less than three weeks but because of limited time we'll have to do it in less than one," Fernando answered her. "We'll start with stretching exercises, then we'll begin the dodging training and the best way to learn is through experience. It is important to do these stretching exercises because when dodging, it's best to be limber because your movements must be fluid so that they flow into each other. Forcing a non-coherent movement can be very bad as has a higher chance of failure and leaves you open during the transition."

Orihime nodded, reading herself into a Karate stance.

"Let's begin..."

An hour later...

"Get up!" Fernando said sternly, staring at a winded Orihime on all fours. "We're not done Orihime."

"I-I-I can't..." Orihime said, forcing the words to come out of her mouth.

Remember her soft nature, Fernando calmed his voice. As he helped her back onto her feet, he spoke, "Come over here..." He sat at the edge of the roof where she soon joined him. Unsheathing his blade, he held it up to the moonlight causing it shine brightly. Then slowly, he brought the sharp edge against his right palm, rending his flesh apart and making way for the crimson liquid to seep out.

"You see this, Orihime?" Fernando held his hand in front of her.

"Yes but..." Orihime was quickly hushed.

"Alright," he said as he gestured for her hand. "You trust me completely, don't you?"

"Yes but..." Orihime repeating the same answer but now more nervous about the situation.

"Ok," her teacher grabbed her hand and gently slid the blade edge against her own palm. Both people's blood ran down their arms and dripped onto the roof as he continued to speak, "Now, do you see a difference in our blood?"

"No..." Orihime said, staring at each palm as Fernando neared his to hers.

"What makes us so different that I can do this and you can't?" he asked her. "Nothing does. The only limit on you is the one you put on yourself. When you say you can't do it then you won't. There are only two types of people during training, those who strive to reach their full potential and those who don't. Which are you, the first or the latter?"

"But you're not..." Orihime was not allowed to finish her sentence.

"Not human... not true. I am still human, I still feel all the feeling you do, I still breathe, still eat, and I can still die," Fernando said. "Now answer me, are you the first or the latter?"

"I..." Orihime hesitated.

"Don't think! Just answer!" Fernando yelled, following it with a swift kick.

"I'm the first!" Orihime yelled, dodging rapidly causing a grin to appear on Fernando's face but to his surprise, it did not end there. She launched a punch of her own to his face which threw him off the roof. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Ha-ha-ha!" her instructor laughed as he leapt back onto the roof. "So perfect! That's great Orihime!"

"But aren't you hurt?" Orihime asked ashamed that she caused him harm.

"That doesn't matter," Fernando said. "I'm sorry I had to put you through that. I hope that you'll forgive me. But that shows so much potential in you, Orihime."

"I have a lot of potential?" Orihime asked.

"Of course," her teacher answered her. "And I'm going to help you bring it out, like I promised. But I will warn you that the training will only get tougher as we go, I won't be pulling anymore punches. You ask for my training and you will receive it without any special treatment. Your opponent will not treat you kindly but you know that after your fight with that Hollow, don't you?"

"Are we going to continue?" Orihime asked.

"Yes, by the time we're done with today, you will be able to keep up with my full speed," Fernando told her. "Are you ready to continue?"

Orihime nodded as she once again readied herself for his oncoming attack.

Not much later...

A familiar scene showed itself as Orihime was on the ground on all fours, panting heavily, sweat covering her face. Walking towards her, Fernando was about to help her back onto her feet but she began lifting herself off the floor.

"I can still continue, please not yet," Orihime pleaded, getting into her stance once again.

"No, now we have to rest," her instructor told her. "Too much training like this and your body will give out on you. But we can start another type of training, meditation."

"Ok," Orihime said, knowing not to argue with her teacher.

Climbing down from the roof, both entered the apartment. Gesturing his student to sit, he hovered over her. "Like last time you did this, you must be in a position that you feel comfortable in. Meditation allows you to relax and loosen the tension in your muscles which helps after the intensive training but it also teaches you how to attain inner peace which you need during a fight. You cannot let your emotions get the best of you, you must keep your mind clear or your focus will become clouded. Yes it's true that you must draw power from your emotions but this must be in a controlled manner or your illogical thinking could get you or others hurt or killed."

"But how do you meditate?" Orihime asked.

"Well, I imagine the things that make me most calm," he responded. "Something that makes me happy even. I usually take slow, deep breaths and let myself go. It is almost like falling asleep but keeping your conscious awake, focusing on inner tranquility."

"What makes you happy? What do you usually imagine?" Orihime asked him.

"Well..." Fernando answered; a small perverted smile came across his face as he looked towards her. "Now it's something different but it's basically the same even now. You see I never got close to any girl before, except for Shinshyu. That's because I was afraid that they might judge me for what I've done, so what I focus on is usually an ideal girl for me, someone kind and accepting of who I was. And, well... what I would do with her..."

"Like... kiss?"Orihime asked oblivious as to what he was inferring to.

"Yeah... you could say that," he answered her then, under his breath, he continued, "Among other things."

"Do you have anyone that you imagine like that?" Orihime continued her questioning.

"Well... yeah..." Fernando said slowly and embarrassed.

"Who?" Orihime asked excitedly, wanting to know who this person, unaware that the person was closer than she could ever expect.

"That I really can't tell you... Please, just drop it," he pleaded of her.

Orihime frowned, sad that her guest would not reveal his hidden crush and yet still unsuspecting that it was actually her. "Ok," she complied.

"I'll join you," he said, settling himself next to her. "I really haven't meditated in awhile and between my own training and yours, I really need a rest."

After a couple of minutes, an ironic twist from an earlier scene came into view as Orihime soon heard light snoring from her guest. But what had actually thrown her off her meditative state was when his head had bumped against hers. Trying to slowly lay him down on the floor, Orihime accidently let her guest fall onto the floor with loud thud. To her surprise, he was still asleep. Grabbing a small blanket, she covered his body. Quickly making her way to her room, she also fell into a well deserved sleep.


	15. Progress and Recollection

**Progress and Recollection**

"Why am I even here?" Fernando asked Tatsuki, both hiding behind a bush with pedestrians looking at them strangely as they passed.

"You said you would help Orihime get Ichigo, so we have to make sure this thing goes perfectly, " Tatsuki answered in a harsh whisper, even with her broken arm it seemed that she was still as aggressive to him as ever.

"Yeah but I never thought we would be doing anything as stupid as this," the teen boy rebutted. "Seriously, this could be considered stalking, I hope you know that. And why the hell are we hiding behind this bush? People can clearly see us back here and I'm an American mixed in a crowd of Japanese people, I kind of stick out like a sore thumb."

"Shush," Tatsuki silenced him and pushed his head down so only his silvered eyes and hair appeared over the bush. "He's finally coming! Took him long enough!"

Both stayed quite but still clearly visible to the passer-by's as the two spied on the greeting of Orihime and Ichigo. "I told you that everyone's staring at us," the teen boy spoke again. "They're going to spot us any second now. They would have to blind to miss us."

"Look we have to be there to give Orihime some advice. She has no idea what to do on a date," Tatsuki responded. "Now be quiet or they'll see us!"

"Ok, A) it's not a date, it's two friends hanging out after school, B) I'm sure you don't know what to do on a date either and C) like my talking is going to be the thing that gives us away," Fernando replied sarcastically. "No, not the fact I look completely different from everyone else and that we're hiding behind the smallest bush ever."

"Look I told Orihime never to talk about you at school," Tatsuki said, keeping her eyes on the couple. "So above all, we can't anyone from school see you. What would they say if she were living with a strange older boy? Now shut the hell up!"

"I guess you did think this through," Fernando responded. "But that wouldn't be a problem if you just let me go home, you seriously couldn't have picked a worse hiding spot. Anyway I told you, she has the goods, all Orihime has to do is flaunt them."

"But we need him to fall for her not her body," Tatsuki said, still spying on the couple as they talked.

"With her personality, if he falls for her body, he'll soon for her entirely. She's a good girl, what's not to like?" Fernando replied, not bothering to spy on them and instead he lied down and began watching the clouds go by.

"You obviously know nothing about what a girl wants!" Tatsuki answered angrily.

"You obviously don't know how a guy thinks," he responded. "No matter what type of guy it is, we always will stare at the body to some degree then we'll get to know the girl."

"That's why you can't get a girl," Tatsuki said.

"Hey, we're all a little shallow. Guys are just bad at hiding it," Fernando stated.

"They're on move, let's go," Tatsuki said, dragging her companion along with her working.

"Why did I have to say yes?" Fernando asked himself, sighing.

"Pst!" a call came from a bush nearby. "Pssssssssst!"

"Tatsuki?" Orihime asked the bush in a whisper, the voice sounding much like her best friend's.

"Yeah," Tatsuki said in a harsh whisper. "He's here too," she continued, pulling Fernando's head from under the bush, both their heads covered in leaves.

"Hey, Orihime," he greeted his host. "Sorry about this but she's dragging me along."

"We'll be right here if you need any advice," Tatsuki said, also sinking back into the cover of leaves.

"Why do we always have to hide in bushes?" the male teen asked as he sunk back under the foliage.

"Shut it! Ichigo's coming back!" Tatsuki yelled.

"What are you looking at?" Ichigo asked, walking back from the restroom, as he saw Orihime staring at the bush behind her.

"Oh nothing," Orihime laughed awkwardly as she quickly turned back around.

"Oww!" the bush rumbled, drawing Ichigo's attention. Tatsuki had covered her hostage's mouth with her hand and watching Ichigo very closely, hoping that he would not look into the bush. After a moment absolutely no movement or sound, Ichigo shrugged his shoulders, turned around and walked away with Orihime joining him.

"You almost gave us away, idiot!" Tatsuki yelled, punching him on his head again.

"You're the one that punched me!" he yelled back at the angry girl. "Why do we have to follow her around? I'm pretty sure that she could handle herself."

"But she's never done anything like this before," Tatsuki said to herself. "I never thought that she would ask him out. She doesn't even know what to do on a date. What got into her?" Tatsuki paused to ponder the reason for Orihime's newfound assertiveness. "It was you!"

"Who me?" Fernando asked then continued sarcastically, "Of course not."

"Stop messing around!" Tatsuki yelled, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "I know it's you! You've gotten really close to Orihime in these past few weeks, I'd be afraid to see what you could do if you stay with her any longer…"

"Well don't be," the teen boy said, prying her fingers off his shirt. "I promised to help her with Ichigo and so I will. When I promise something, it's solid gold. I know that you're always worried about her but she's not a defenseless little girl anymore. Like I said, she could handle herself. If you put faith in people, they will raise to the occasion."

"Since you said it's not a date, we're still far from done," Tatsuki said to him. "And anyway, we already promised that we'd be right there for her if she need us. Didn't you say that your promises are solid gold?"

"Correction, you promised that, not me," he answered. "I have something to get done today before she gets home."

"Come on," Tatsuki said, dragging him by the collar of his shirt with her working hand. "They're almost out of sight!"

"Why me?" Fernando asked himself as he was taken against his will.

"She's been doing pretty well. Can I please leave?" the silvered-eyed boy asked but received no response. "I'll take that as a no…"

"Sush!" Tatsuki ordered him. "Why do you want to go home so badly? What do you have to do that can't wait?"

"Why should I tell you?" he asked her. "Dragging me around town like if I were your dog or slave…"

"Wait a minute…" Tatsuki said slowly as she came to a realization. "You don't want to be here because you're jealous, aren't you?"

"N-no!" Fernando stuttered as he broke out into a cold sweat. 'Son of bitch! I stuttered! Come on, I kept cool this far through, why did I have to crack now? I can't believe that she noticed but that really isn't the only reason that I want to get out of here. Come on, I can lie or maybe if I tell her the other reason, she might buy that…'

"I knew it," Tatsuki said, seeing the nervous teen sweat. "You're jealous of Ichigo; I always knew that you had feelings for Orihime."

"It's not that," he said, trying to find the words to phrase what he was on his mind. "I-I'm going to leave soon so I was planning…"

"Uh-huh…" Tatsuki waited for his answer.

"Well, I was planning to, well… I guess to make a good-bye present… gift… whatever," he spoke nervously. "For Orihime and you. Since you know now, how helping me out with it?"

"With what exactly and where are you going?" Tatsuki asked him, wanting answers.

"Don't worry about where I'm going, I won't be gone too long," Fernando responded. "As for what I need your help in…well…you'll see."

As both began walking towards their common friend's home, Tatsuki abruptly repeated herself, "I still think you're jealous of Ichigo."

'Crap,' the silvered-eyed boy thought to himself, trying not to show any signs that would tell her she was right. 'Women are too smart; it's almost as if they could read a guy's mind sometimes. I guess Shinshyu wasn't the only one like that.'

As both neared the Orihime's apartment, Tatsuki finally realized something, "How are we going to get in if Orihime's not with us?"

"Good question," the teen boy responded, pulling out a small key hidden in his pants pocket. "And here's your answer."

"Orihime gave you a key?" Tatsuki asked with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah," he answered her.

"Seriously, what makes her trust you so much 'cause I really don't see it?" she asked yet another question to which the boy walking next to her simply shrugged.

"I guess," he thought it over, "she's just a very trusting person and that's exactly why I want to thank because if she hadn't taken me in, I could be lying in the streets somewhere dead."

"And why exactly are you thanking me?" Tatsuki asked. "I didn't think you liked me at all. After all, I still don't trust you alone with Orihime."

"Well, I know that you protect Orihime from all the boys that want her because of her chest…" he paused then continued, "so I guess I'm glad you gave me a chance because you could have convinced her to kick me out onto the streets. You are her best friend after all. So thanks for that much."

"Oh yeah," Tatsuki prepared another question as her male companion opened the door. "How did you manage to get Orihime to ask out Ichigo?"

"That was a very rigorous and time consuming process to convince her to take such action," he said, beginning his recollection of the scene.

**/Flashback begin/**

"_You should ask Ichigo to go hang out after school with you, Orihime," Fernando suggested during a small pause between their training sessions. "It won't the same as a date but you can get closer to him."_

"_Do you think I'm ready and that he'll say yes?" Orihime asked, slightly nervous at the thought._

"_You're definitely ready and of course he'll say, I mean look at you. No one could say no to you," he replied._

"_OK!" she agreed to his plan._

**/End Flashback/**

"You got to be kidding me," Tatsuki said, a disappointed look taking over her face. "That's really all it took?"

"Yup. You see… guys in general like the more direct approach to know that a girl likes them rather than the subtle hints girls like to use," he said as he concluded the very short tale. "Now onto what I need you for…" Disappearing into the kitchen, Fernando reemerged holding two different cakes both seemed perfect in appearance. "When I first arrived, she asked me if I could bake and truth is that it was never my strong suits in cooking. So I need your help, try these two cakes and tell me where I went wrong."

"Ok, but they both look fine to me," she said as took a slice of the first one. "Ugh!" Tatsuki quickly spat out the first bite, "You didn't bake it long enough, I can still taste the batter and you added way too much chocolate, it's so bitter."

"Ok," Fernando took in the criticisms using a small, black notebook labeled "RECIPES" on the cover. "Increase cooking time and add less chocolate."

"This one's just as bad," Tatsuki said, trying to swallow the bite she took of the second cake. "Too think you can cook so well and then suck so much at baking… Anyway, in this one you added too much flour, it's all dried up. You didn't put enough sugar either; it doesn't taste sweet at all."

"Alright, alright," he continued to note these comments in his recipe book. "Ok let me try again but it'll have to wait until tomorrow. I can't let her see what I'm doing and the only time that I can bake in secret is when she's asleep."

"You're a lousy baker…" Tatsuki added to her comments. "Why don't you write that down?"

"Even with just one arm, you're still a bitch," he insulted her under his breath.

"What did you say?" Tatsuki asked angrily, only slightly hearing the last part of what he just said.

"Oh nothing…" the silvered-eyed teenager said as he walked away with the two cakes.

"Ok Orihime," Orihime's guest signaled her to stop as she was once again on her hands and knees, covered in sweat, "looks like you're about ready to learn about counter-attacks and the offensive."

"But I still can't keep up with you," the auburn-haired girl stated, accepting the truth.

"Well, truthfully, but I never thought that you'd be able to in such short time. With experience, time and more training, you will be able to dodge and block most attacks. But with us running short on time and the fact that counter-attacking involves dodging and blocking, I think we can continue with counter-attack but it is not very long because it is very incorporated into offensive," he explained. "But first, before we begin the actual lesson, let me ask you a question. When is your opponent most vulnerable?"

"I don't know," Orihime responded, clueless to the ways of a true fight.

"It is when they attack," her instructor answered himself. "When someone attacks, no matter what kind of attack, they must abandon their defense in order to do so. This training is not to help you find when to attack but where and how."

"Oh…" she said, standing back up.

"When your opponent attacks using melee, the point in which the attack originated is where they become most vulnerable. When they attack using ranged, they become virtually vulnerable everywhere as they must either reload or wait for their weapon to return and/or recharge. As long as you successfully blocked or dodged the attack, you will have a large window of opportunity," Fernando spoke, circling his student. "The most important thing is to take advantage of this opportunity, depending on their speed; you might want to attack quickly rather than try to land a powerful blow. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Orihime answered.

"Finally, this actually intrudes on our final lesson, the offensive," the young teacher continued his lecture. "Once you counter-attack, you will have the option of either switching into offensive or staying defensive but it is best to switch to offensive as you could tire yourself pretty quickly if you stay defensive for too long. Now we'll begin, try to dodge or block then counter with a quick attack, maybe a fast punch then when I think you're ready we'll start on the offensive but like I said, this will be a short lesson so I'm sure that you'll get it in no time."

Again the familiar scene reared its head, Orihime on all fours and panting with her instructor hovering over her waiting to hear whether she could continue. Considering her condition and how hard she had been training throughout the week, Fernando decided her training could be put off and in its stead a day of rest.

"So how was your day with Ichigo?" the teen asked his host as he offered her a hand. "We'll be taking tomorrow off; too much training is bad for your body. Even I need a rest once in awhile."

"Ok," Orihime said obediently. "Well, Ichigo and I had a lot of fun…"

"Glad to hear it," he lied.

"Until Rukia came, then Ichigo had to leave with her…" Orihime said with disappointment in her voice.

"Oh… well… don't worry about that. He just has duties to attend to; it just means he's responsible. Urahara has told you that he is a shinigami, right? That just means you have good taste in men, good job Orihime," he told her as they entered her small apartment. "He'll come around Orihime, like I said don't worry about it."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about this," Orihime said as she pulled his black jacket, fully repaired, from her bag.

Her guest accepted it gladly and quickly slipped back into his second skin, "You stitched it up, didn't you? I was wondering where it had gone to, I asked Urahara about it but he never gave me a straight answer."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell but it was hard work to stitch," Orihime said as her guest noticed her bandaged hands.

"Thank you but you really should have told me about this," Fernando told her. "My jacket is made out some pretty tough material but I guess you found that out the hard way, huh?"

"Yeah," Orihime said looking her own hands. "My needles weren't going through easily, I had to press really hard on it."

"You haven't been paying attentions to my lessons then, have you?" he asked her. "You must meet hard with soft. When two people meet hard with hard, each will be hurt to some degree. Look let me borrow one of your needles."

Orihime quickly pulled out a needle from her bag and handed it to him. "Look carefully," he ordered her as he effortlessly weaved the fabric in smooth and rhythmic motion. "You see, when something is tough, you must solve in soft, subtle way. See martial arts not only teaches you how you should during training or a fight, it also is a way to live by and extends to so many things."

Orihime was amazed by the wisdom this young teen holds, almost sage-like wisdom. Then it seemed that something else popped into her head, she reached into her bag and pulled out another small black notebook, two bracelet and necklace. "I almost forgot about all of these," she said as she handed them back to him.

"Thank you for keeping them safe," the silvered-boy said as he took off his jacket and re-inserted the possessions into their custom made places.

"Whose are they?" the auburn-haired girl asked curiously.

"Well you see… one of the bracelets is meant for me. In fact it's this one here," he pointed at the one set into the end of the right sleeve of his jacket. It was made of silver with a chain that had black crystal dangling at its end. "This is a bracelet of silver, custom made for me to wear when I get married. You see this black crystal?" Fernando asked as he held it to Orihime's nodding face. "It's an Onyx gem, not too expensive but my mother said it represented me perfectly. With its shadowy appearance, you can never see it all the way through."

He then removed it and placed it onto the table. Then he removed the second bracelet from his left sleeve, this one was very similar in design to the first but made of gold and had what seemed to be a well sized diamond at the end of its small, dangling chain. "This is the more expensive of the two bracelets, somewhere at about $80,000 to $60,000, I think. It's actually meant for my wife, whoever she will be. Yes, that is actually a pure diamond at the end there. Shinshyu once said that the woman I marry will appear to be the exact opposite of me but we will actually be more similar then we think and that I'll know her when I meet her. I'm actually supposed to give it to her before we get married; she said that nothing seals the deal better for girl than a diamond."

"And the necklace?" Orihime asked.

"Oh, the necklace is actually very unique," he said as he pulled it out from the collar of his jacket. "Its chain made out of both silver and gold and the jewel is actually half and half diamond and Onyx. She never gave me any special instructions with what to do with this one. I keep them all with me for good luck."

"Oh," Orihime said amazed that his mother could afford all these luxuries. "Were you rich back in America?"

"There's a long story with that but before all this happened to me… Yeah, I was… well, mother was," he stated. "She was an owner and chef of one of the finest restaurants in the world. That's why I really can't complain about life being crappy; most of my life was pretty comfortable."

"My brother, Tony, has a matching set just like mine but his bracelet has a Topaz instead of an Onyx and the necklace has a combination of the Topaz and diamond," Orihime's guest continued. "No matter how much he said he hated our mother, I knew he loved her too because he the bracelets and necklace with him at all times just like me."

"I'm sure she knew that too," Orihime added with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, she always had a way of reading our feelings no matter how we looked on the outside, it was actually kind of scary," he said.

"What are you going to do after you leave?" the girl asked him.

"Well, there's nothing that I can actually put my finger on after I leave," he answered. "For all I know I could die out there. I have no idea what kind of worlds there are out there and I'm going to be traveling through a few of them."

A worried face came over Orihime's face as she knew there was no way of helping him once he was gone as well as no indication of his safety.

Seeing this, he continued, "Don't worry about me, I'm not your problem once I'm gone. I've made it this far anyways, I'm sure that I could survive a bit longer. But if I do manage to survive, I'll be doing a good of amount of training. If there's one thing that Urahara told me that makes sense, it's that I need to be prepared to face anything that could happen as well as be ready when I go back home."

"You're going back?" Orihime asked in disbelief.

"Of course, you can't run from your problems. If I just keep running and hiding out with people, I'm just selfishly putting their lives in danger to protect my own. Not only that but I have to bury my mother, it's my duty as her son. And finally, I have to go get my brother back, he _is_ my little brother after all, I have to protect him," he replied.

"Are you ever coming back?" Orihime asked her guest.

"Well, since Urahara and you seem to want me back, I'll make one last visit before I leave back to my world," the young Elemental answered.

"What about after that?" Orihime continued her questioning.

"I actually haven't planned that far," he replied. "But to tell the completely truth, there's not a very big chance of me making that far. Though if I do manage to survive all that, I'll try and make it back here. I don't know, there's just something about this place that calls me to it. Maybe it's all the excitement with the Hollow fights, or maybe it's the peacefulness of normal town life." Then he thought in his head, 'I think it's mostly because you but you don't have to know that.'

"Oh!" Orihime exclaimed as she noticed the small, unlabeled black notebook. "What about this notebook? What does it have?"

Though it was completely off subject, he answered her last question, "Well… you see… I know I'll be traveling quite a bit and I'll be meeting a lot of people, so I decided keep this. It basically log book of all people I've met so far, along with a drawing of the person."

He handed the book over to her and she opened it right away only to see a drawing of herself, seemingly professionally done as it was accurate down to last detail on her school uniform. She could not read the writing on the page, though, as it was in English.

He saw her trying to make sense of the foreign writing, flipping upside-down, twisting her head in strange angle. "Oh yeah, I forgot you can't read English. Here I'll read what it says out loud."

He gestured for the notebook and after receiving it, began reading the exact words on the page, "Name: Orihime Inoue/ Sex: Female/ Date met: Unknown/ Place met: Karakura Town, Japan/ Personality: Very kind, though naïve at times/ Features: About five feet in height, long, fair, brownish-orange hair (Very interesting, seems to be her natural hair color)…" he paused as he remembered the next description was a remark about her breasts and evaded saying it all together. "Fair, white skin, big brown eyes and full lips."

He handed it back to her and she continued to look through it, only to see the drawings, "Wow, you have me, Ichigo, Tatsuki, Rukia… I didn't know you can draw so well."

"Well, Shinshyu always said it was best to have a creative outlet for kids and so she paid for me and Tony to get not only drawing lessons but musical lessons. Tony was learning to play the drums and I was learning to play the guitar," he said, surprisingly to Orihime, in a proud tone.

"You're not sad about your mother anymore?" she asked.

"Well I guess not, I realized something. It's a waste of time to stay mopping; my mother would have never wanted me to do that. If she could, she would have beaten some sense into me. After all, she always told me that the thing that would make her feel appreciated and loved is if we gave her grandchildren… a lot of grandchildren…" he said shaking his head.

"How many did she want?" Orihime asked curiously.

"You really don't want to know… And she also taught us one last thing and it's probably the most important," Fernando added. "When times are down, live with hopeful heart. Hope for a better tomorrow. Sometimes hope is all you have to go on but hope is usually all you need."

That night was the most peaceful he had ever spent there as well as the most restful, though he knew that soon he would have to leave this life he had become accustom to and continue his life on the run somewhere


	16. She Says Goobye, He Says Hello

**She Says Good-bye, He Says Hello**

**AN: ** Yo guys, I'm back with the first update of the year. Sorry it took so long but school's been a drag. It drew me back about a week to write and finish this chapter, not to mention the writer's block. But now it'll probably take about a month for one chapter, so sorry for faithful readers. As for unfaithful, you probably won't be reading this chapter until I post the new one so problem on your end. This chapter is actually the transition between the Bleach-verse and Naruto-verse. These two universes won't be the only ones included but they will be major. So like I always say: "Read, Review and Enjoy!"

**AN P.S.:** The lines that I have inserted are now the new transitions. I barely found out that I can do that. Sorry about the inconveniences of the other types of transitions I've tried so far. I'll probably be sticking to this one. Now on to the story!

"Looks like you have improved quite a bit now," the blond shopkeeper said to his young student as they paused during one of their sparring sessions.

"Thanks," the green Elemental said between his heavy breathes.

"It's almost been two weeks already, huh?" Fuu asked, floating about in a laid-back position.

"Yeah," Fernando answered her.

"I guess it's about time leave to, huh?" Fuu asked.

"Yes…" he forced the words out of his mouth.

"Guess you're gonna start your good-bye's soon too, huh?" Fuu asked which she received only an evil stare for a response. "I'm just asking… It's your fault for getting attached; maybe in the next world you visit you'll follow my advice."

"But yeah, I guess you're right. It is my fault for getting attached but I don't regret it for a moment," the Dark Elemental said. "I once heard a quote that went something like 'Whatever happened was meant to happen' and something close to that. Also 'Whatever happens, happens at the right moment' or something like that."

"What are you talking about?" Fuu asked extraordinarily confused.

"There should be no 'shoulda', 'woulda' or 'coulda' in life. That what it's about," Fernando explained bluntly. "I learned that a long time ago. The past is done with, there's no reason linger on it. Learn from it and keep your head facing forward or future will end up just as bad. So like I said before, I regret nothing."

* * *

"Looks like this going to be one of my last days here, Orihime," he told the auburn-haired teen as she sat next to him, both resting from their latest sparring session. "For now at least…"

"In that case, let me cook for you," Orihime said with the usual smile on her face. "It's the least I can do; you cooked for me almost every day that you've been staying with me."

"That…" he paused for a moment. A very familiar scent had drift into his nose via the cool night air. Then he continued without showing any signs of having smelt the aroma, "sounds very nice Orihime. Why don't you head inside and start on that? I think I'll stay out here a little longer."

As soon as she climbed off the roof and he heard the door fully shut, he leapt onto his feet knowing full well what the scent he just picked up was. "Blood… a lot of blood… where though?" he paused and took a long whiff of the night's air. "Damn, can't tell. It's too far away; I need to get a little closer… But the wind's dead tonight, where is it coming from?"

"It came from over there," Fuu appeared and pointed towards the horizon, which surprised the unsuspecting teen on the roof, nearly causing him to off the roof for a second time.

"A little warning next time," the teen said, regaining his composure.

"Come on you've seen do that so much! I can't believe you're still surprised! I thought that someone like you would have gotten used to it by now," the floating woman said.

"How are you so sure that the smell came from over there? How did you even know what I was looking for?" the young boy said as he zipped up his jacket and threw his hood on.

"The wind told me, all I had to do is ask it," the woman responded. "Looks like you're ready for some rain."

"Nope, more like… a little recon," Fernando replied.

"Recon? What're you talking about?" Fuu asked confused.

"I may not be able to feel a soul's reiatsu yet but I can still a dangerous presence when it closes in on me. Right now, I feel someone powerful enough to take both of us on," the young man explained. "And I'm not about get myself into I fight that could lose my life in but thanks to my own suppressed reiatsu, I can sneak a peek at who this person it."

"Why exactly are you going to see who this person is?" Fuu asked.

"Two reasons: First, I think I know who's bleeding and it's faint but I think I know the scent. Second, I might have to face him or her later," the teen answered.

"So you're going to help the person if they're in trouble?" the older Elemental asked.

"Maybe but like I said this is just recon, it better for me to stay out and help him out afterword. If I'm right, there's more than one person bleeding out there," he paused noticing that she was no longer paying him any attention. Hammering her on her head, he continued, "which means that I might need your help cleaning up the mess."

"Fine!" she yelled, rubbing her head. "Just call if you need me."

* * *

Travelling across the rooftops towards the direction Fuu pointed out for him, he quickly but quietly jumped from one to the next knowing not only was on a time limit but must reach his destination quickly and without being detected. As he closed in on the scent's source, he began slowing his speed and carefully traveled across each rooftop as he looked to the streets below to assure that he did not pass up his destination.

Soon the scent of blood became very thick in the air, almost overwhelmingly so. The teen slowed down to nearly a quarter of his already slowed pace, not wanting to give himself away before even arriving. Below the next rooftop he caught a glimpse at what he saw was a battle between Shinigami, two unidentified and one none other than the local Ichigo. One of unidentified fighters, a mostly redheaded Shinigami, seemed to in charge of the current battle which explained the sorry state that Ichigo was currently in.

Peeking his head out further, he found another two people at the scene: a dark haired teen lying on the floor wounded and bloodied and Rukia. Fernando immediately evaluated the circumstances of battle, they have finally come for Rukia just as Urahara predicted. Though the redheaded Shinigami was dressed just like Ichigo while in his own Shinigami form, the other was clearly the first's superior as not only was he adorned with a white coat but he was also clearly judging Ichigo's strength. Though he thought he was virtually invisible in the night with his black coat, it seemed that the superior officer had glanced his way.

As safety precaution, he quietly fell to the ground and hid along the walls of the streets. His presence on roof was obviously noticed as he watched the white coated officer disappear and reappear on his ex-vantage point. He gazed at the man with wide eyes; he had never in his life witnessed such blinding speed. He had almost mistaken it for teleportation and in his mind he asked himself, 'Was that Shunpo?'

At this point he knew that joining in the fight would not be productive. Even if he were to help Ichigo, their chances at victory were slim. Instead he had made his decision; he would only observe the fight and intervene only when there is serious threat to his allies' lives.

"So you're not going to help?" a familiar voice whispered behind him.

"Urahara?" the teen asked backed without taking his eyes off the battle. "Maybe I should ask you the same thing."

Both continued to watch the fight unfold, neither making any gestures indicating they would join in the fight. The fight quickly flipped on its head as an intervention by Rukia seemed to spark something in Ichigo. With two swing of his giant blade, one which was actually blocked, Ichigo already had his opponent on his knees. But before he could finish his opponent, the second dark haired Shinigami stepped into fight and in one swift and unseen movement had rendered Ichigo's Zanpakutō completely useless as most of the blade was in the second Shinigami's hand.

And with another invisibly fast movement, the superior Shinigami had ended the battle. His attack was so swift that, though both Urahara and he saw the wounds, it took Ichigo a few moments to register them in his mind. With the Ichigo's defeat, both Shinigami took Rukia as well as their leave through what seemed to be a door similar to ones used during old feudal Japan.

Rain began pouring down the two unconscious bodies lying on the floor. "Tsk Tsk Tsk, what a mess…" Urahara said, approaching the beaten teens as rain began pouring down on the group. "I'd think you'd say it was my fault."

"This is a little of everyone's fault but it's just wasting time trying to point fingers," his student commented. "It's better time used to patch these two up."

As Urahara began the healing process as his hands lit up in a bright but small light over Ichigo's damaged body, curiosity sparked within his student. "Hey, Urahara! Who _is_ this kid?" the teen asked, bringing the dark haired teen's body closer to Urahara.

"He is a Quincy," his master stated simply.

"Oh yeah, because of course I know what a Quincy is," the only conscious teen sarcastically retorted.

"The Quincy are a special type of people who have abnormally high amounts of reiatsu and also have a technique passed down from one generation to the next. This technique is actually spiritual bow and allows them they use it to shoot their energy in form of arrows," Urahara explained as he continued to close Ichigo's wounds. "Their main goal was rid the world of the living of Hollows but, unlike Shinigami's Zanpakutō, the Quincy's bow and arrow kill Hollows."

"What? I haven't been killing Hollows, then?" the teen asked.

"You didn't listen to me during our training?" Urahara questioned.

"Hey, give me a break! It's a lot to remember in a couple of weeks," the young Elemental said.

"There's going to plenty to learn throughout the other worlds you'll be visiting, so don't doubt that this won't happen again," Urahara warned his student. "But as I have already said, a Zanpakutō does not kill Hollows. Instead, it will cleanse the spirit of the sins it has commit while a Hollow and send it to the Soul Society. A Quincy bow and arrow will kill the Hollow as well as the spirit that it once was, meaning that spirit is gone forever. I believe he's the last remaining Quincy, they were thought to be an extinct people until I saw him during the Hollow invasion."

The rain continued pouring down soaking the two unconscious teens on the floor as Urahara finally seemed satisfied with Ichigo's condition and began his healing technique on the last known Quincy.

"What's his name?" Fernando asked, realizing that his question was not fully answered.

"Ishida Uryū, he actually attends school with both Ichigo and Orihime as well as another person of interest, though you still haven't met him. His name is Yasutora Sado, he also possesses some strong power of his own," the blond shopkeeper added.

"Who were those Shinigami that came to take Rukia back? Did you know them before you left the Soul Society?" his student asked.

"Well not personally, no. But I do know who they are. Though I didn't tell you how to distinguish between the Lieutenants, Captains and regular Shinigami, you managed to pick your fights correctly," the ex-captain complimented his student. "You kept out of a fight with a Captain and Lieutenant. You could have defeated the Lieutenant, Abarai Renji, probably but in company of his Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, you have been defeated just as easily as both of these two here, even with their power severely limited."

"Wait a minute!" a connection had occurred. "Rukia Kuchiki… Byakuya Kuchiki… They're… related?"

"Brother and sister actually, well, really Rukia was adopted by the Kuchiki's," Urahara as continued to heal the young Quincy. "She actually bears a striking resemblance to Byakuya's deceased sister."

"Well, I have to get back now," his student simply stated as the Quincy apparently woke up from his unconscious state. The Quincy looked the strange teen and seemed to sum him within seconds as he took his leave of the scene. "What's with him? Not even a thank you? He would have bled out here if you didn't heal him."

"Well, it seems he has a deep hatred towards Shinigami though if you want to know reason then it's best to hear it from him," Urahara explained.

"No thanks, I've got enough on my plate as it is. I don't know how much more I can handle but I guess I'll have to get used to it," his student replied, anticipating what was to come. "But like I said, I got to go."

Wasting no time, Fernando called out for his newest 'ally', "Fuu!"

With no answer and no sign of her arrival for minutes after calling her, both waiting grew impatient, so the teen yelled for her again, "Fuu!"

"Alright, alright… I'm coming," the wind woman appeared a short distance from them and lazily walked the rest of the way. "Wow, what happened here?" the woman asked as she saw lots of blood pooled on the ground though it looked like only the orange-ish haired boy was injured.

"Oh, well I think Urahara explain to you that," the Elemental of the shadows said.

"You will be bringing this interesting little specimen back to the shop anyways, I'll explain while we make our way back," Urahara stated as he jabbed the unconscious Ichigo in the head with his cane.

"Why do I have to? Why can't _he_ do it?" Fuu complained as she pointed at Fernando.

"Can't you see that he's late for a date with the buxom redhead of Karakura," Urahara said and though he hid his face behind his hidden fan, Fernando could tell that he was wearing a perverted smile across his face. Knowing he would never be able to defeat his master with his words, the young Elemental just rolled eyes as a way of admitting his own defeat. "Well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you already late? Come on, you don't want to keep a young lady waiting…"

Urahara was driving him towards his boiling point and knowing better than to explode on his master, the teen calmly walked away from scene then quickly began traveling across the rooftops.

"Aren't you being kinda cruel?" Fuu asked the blond sword master.

"Sometimes they just need the right push," he replied. "After all he's been and all that's he's about to go through, he deserves a time to enjoy himself. Tomorrow will probably be his last day for at least a couple of weeks, so I think it's good that he's not spending his time training and instead with a pretty girl."

"Hmph!" was Fuu's only response.

"A little jealous are we?" Urahara as he then began recounting his own youth. "Ah, I remember when I was young. Our taste in women is not so different, you know? The only exception was the girl I trained with was just a bit darker."

A slight blush began to cover the perverted master's face as he grinned and walked towards his hidden store.

* * *

Now comfortably back in his temporary home, the young Elemental examined the questionable meal that was served to him. Though he could swear that he saw one of items on the table twitch or even move, he continued to follow his host in their devouring of what would be a buffet to any ordinary people. With his mother's love of traveling, he had been to many places and tried many, too say the least, eccentric dishes which some included live food. To see something trying to escape his stomach's fierce hunger was not too unusual to him.

They did not usually speak during dinner as both had their mouths full at the time. Orihime thought about her guest's logbook and the skill he had in drawing, she was tempted to ask, "How did you get so good at drawing?"

"Well…" he paused to swallow the food in he was chewing, "just like how anyone gets good at anything: a lot of practice."

"Can you play guitar like that?" she asked.

"Not really," Fernando replied. "I know a few chords, scales and arpeggios here and there but nothing too fancy. I really can't practice guitar in class, you know? So how are things going with Ichigo? Any progress?"

Orihime remained silent which said more than she realized. "A last little bit of advice before I leave tomorrow…" her guest paused as he walked closer to her. He squatted next to the auburn-haired girl and began to close the distant between their faces, "All guys like a girl who can be assertive, even aggressive, once awhile. Sometimes you just have to something that they wouldn't expect, something very forward, something like this…"

Orihime closed her eyes, expecting to feel lip contact any second from then on. She could feel the heat in her face as the blood rushing into it caused her face blush a deep. Her heart was beating faster than a drum. She did not know if she wanted the kiss but her body was not moving, her thoughts were a tangled mess. 'What is he doing? Is he kissing me? Why? This is my first kiss,' she thought as she was held in suspense, with her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the conclusion. Then the very next thoughts came into view from the back of her mind and sent it spinning, 'How will it feel? How will it taste?'

After what seemed like forever, Orihime finally opened her eyes only to see that her guest went back to eating the strange foods on the table. He wore a sort of a wicked smile as he began to speak to her again, "Not what you were expecting, huh? But it got you thinking, right? Made you wonder if you wanted it, made you interested in the idea of kissing me, right?"

Orihime's answer was only a deeper blush appearing on her face, her thoughts solely focused on the fact that she had almost kissed a boy for the first time.

"Looks like it worked better than I thought it would," the teen boy stated as he clearly saw his host trying to catch up with the moment. "It always works to get someone interested in you but it requires a good amount of self confidence on your part. You don't have to go as far as I did. In fact, you already showed that you can be slightly assertive when you asked Ichigo to hang out after school but that is nowhere near enough if you want to get through that thick skull of his."

The sternness he had in his voice as he spoke the last sentence had woken Orihime from her daze as she soon found herself a long ways from the last scene she was imagining. As she continued asking more personal, slightly trivial, questions about himself, Orihime could not forget the last few thoughts she had about the would be. Even when they finished and each separated to sleep in their own little beds, she still found herself confused about what she felt just as she held her eyes shut and waited for the kiss that would never come.

* * *

At night, Orihime continued tossing and turning as her mind still thought about it. Her guest was absolutely right about how effective that little technique was. She sat up in her in the middle of the night with the moon shining full blast through her window on her bed. It was eerily quiet but calm, a very uneventful night indeed but her mind would not let her sleep. Every time she would close her eyes, it reminded her of the near-kiss.

For reasons she could not even come up with, the auburn-haired teen resolved to spy on her sleeping guest as if it would do something to calm her down. She cracked her bedroom door open as quietly as she could but it seemed even the smallest creaks that door made were louder a drum set's cymbal. She slowly snuck her way out of the lonely room and began peeking her head out of the corner of the living room's entrance when suddenly she heard a voice behind her.

"What are we looking at?" the slightly deep but hushed voice spoke, almost causing the young girl to fall over in shock. "Sorry, didn't think I would scare you."

As she struggled to regain her composure, Orihime clearly saw it was none other than her guest. The young Elemental then made his way towards the window to stare at the night sky. For someone so young, it seemed to her that he was always much older and often lost in serious thought.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" he asked her without even looking her way. With his voice breaking the silence once again, Orihime was once startled and this time tripped over the small mat that her guest called his bed. "Sorry about that again."

"Oh, it's ok," she laughed it off as he chuckled to himself.

"It's going to suck after I leave. You know, I'm okay with life right now but leaving having to start all over again and then having to same over and over again doesn't sound very appealing," he said, knowing that until he dealt with the problem plaguing him, he was not going to be able to rest soundly. "Sometimes I wonder if I could make it through, but then I remember: I always liked a challenge. I never liked anything easily, there's that saying that goes 'If something is only worth it if it's worth fighting for.' So if I really want something, then I better ready myself for one hell of a fight."

Orihime remained speechless, not saying a word as she knew there was no way of him knowing his chances as no one even had any knowledge of what he was or what he was up against.

"That goes for you too. If you really want Ichigo, then don't give up so easily. Look how far you've come in your training, you can probably beat Tatsuki pretty easily by now. If you really think he's worth it, then don't lose focus," the young Elemental spoke. "But worst of all, don't get too caught up in the goal and lose sight of things or you just might miss something fantastic. Just a warning, half the journey is getting there."

Orihime simply nodded as she could guess why he was saying this.

"I was actually planning on leaving tonight… without telling you," the teen boy admitted to his host. "It's not that I didn't like it here or you, actually you made it feel like a second home for me. It's just that… I'm not very good at saying good-bye, especially to women. I mean with my brother, step-brother, whatever it doesn't really matter, we would just do that little generic handshake, a five and knuckle touch. Shinshyu was never good at good-bye's either; she basically kicked me out of the house when it was time for school or when I left to go out alone for a bit."

With that said, he cleared his throat and went for a formal good-bye as he extended his hand out to her, "Well… good-bye, Orihime. I had a nice time getting to know you."

Instead greeting his hand with her own, Orihime embraced his torso and spoke, "Heh, we're friends and when we say good-bye, we hug. And you said you going to make it back, so don't make sound like we'll never see each other again."

This surprised him quite a bit, not expecting this as he always felt that things like hugging between boys and girls were reserved for couples. But as he recovered for the mild shock, he looked down and saw tears begin to form in his host's brown eyes. "Wait… don't cry… This exactly what I didn't want to happen… I'm not worth crying over… Oh come on, it's like you said I'll be back don't worry about me… You already have Ichigo to worry about, just forget about me, I'll be fine. I swear."

With that piece of reassurance, Orihime let her arms loosen their grip as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Climbing on to the windowsill, the departing Elemental looked back to his host and gave her a final good-bye, "Hey, Orihime… Thanks for everything and good luck with Ichigo… Oh yeah! By the way, I left you a little something in the fridge. It was supposed to be my way of saying bye but I guess it could still be a thank you present, so enjoy."

With two quick jumps from the window to the tree nearby then the roof, the mysterious boy left out sight. As she stood there, Orihime realized two things: first, the confusion of her feelings were gone, though she still did not know where they stood exactly but hearing herself call him a friend somehow calmed her down and second, she wanted to know what it was he left for her.

Quickly rushing into her kitchen, she eagerly opened the door to her fridge which to her surprise held a beautiful cake with a slice missing. Near was a note which was amazingly written in her native tongue and read what he had already told her…"Not good at good-bye…" and it also explained the missing slice in a postscript that bottom, "P.S. Sorry about the missing slice but I had to taste it to make sure it was ok. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a baker so it took me a good number of cakes before I got one that tasted this good… I couldn't help myself. I hope you enjoy it. The second cake is for Tatsuki, please make sure she gets it. Thanks for everything."

* * *

"I thought you'd leave tonight," Urahara said simply while for Jinta to fetch something from the backroom. "After retrieving Rukia, I knew that we didn't have much longer before things began to go into motion. Unfortunately, I'll need you to comeback within about two weeks now. I cannot give you much more time than that, obviously I will have to help Ichigo regain his powers because that last by Byakuya had not only serious damaged his body, it also cut off his abilities as Shinigami. Retrieving those powers from within him and then training him to be able to fight high level opponents such Lieutenants and Captains will be about 10 days. Opening a gate to the Soul Society will take up about 7 days. And once all of you are there, you'll have 13 days to infiltrate the Seireitei, find Rukia and all that's left is the escape."

"That's sounds very impossible," his student said as Jinta had retrieved the item Urahara had signaled him to get. "Gotei Thirteen, meaning thirteen teams or sections. Each section has a Captain and Lieutenant, so in total that means we potentially have to face 13 Captains and 13 Lieutenants, and that's not including the countless number of subordinates they have. And on top of that, you want me to do this without any casualties on either side…"

"I never said it would be easy now did I?" Urahara asked as he unpacked the small box brought by the small redheaded boy. "Here you go."

He tossed his young student a couple of items, including a shirt, pants and a pair of what looked like gym shoes. "I had these specially ordered just for you," the blond shopkeeper said. "I noticed that you have trouble keeping your clothes in one piece, so I ordered these. The fabric is self-repair, too bad we can't apply to other things but I think you'll find them very useful. Also the shoes are just normal shoes; I have noticed as well that you've been losing your balance very with those clumsy boots."

"Well since I removed that dagger that now is my sword, my boot is kind of missing a lot of its sole," Fernando responded as he knew that Urahara was right and that the boots were very bothersome while in fight. "What about my training?"

"You'll get plenty of training when you're out there in the other worlds," Urahara replied.

"No, I mean you said my sword, well, all Zanpakutō have different forms. An original form, second form, I think you called it Shikai, and the third form, Bankai," the silvered-eyed student clarified.

"Oh that," Urahara thought for a bit. "Well I really can't teach how to release your Zanpakutō. You have to listen to your closely to hear its voice and then listen to its name. You've seen me release my Benihime, right? Usually you also have to call out a command then its name before can be released into its Shikai. Benihime's command is Awaken, almost all Zanpakutō have different commands as well as unique names. So you'll just have to be patient and listen carefully for time that your Zanpakutō starts talking to you."

After a quick change of outfit, the teen boy was ready to leave on to another world. "Hey Fuu," he called out to the Wind Elemental who slowly appeared out of thin air.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Are you going to be staying here? In this world?" he asked back.

"Well... I guess, why?" she asked the boy explain himself.

"I know it's probably going to be a tough battle for me when I return home. I'll need some sort of support and since only Elementals can travel through dimensions, I'm asking for your help," the boy asked as he unsheathed his sword.

"Well I got nothin' better to do and if the guy you told me about somehow can control or turn Elementals, I'll have to face sooner or later," the floating woman agreed. "Oh, yeah if you do find out how to make it back to specific worlds, teach and I'll call it even."

"Alright then," he replied as he what looked to be nothing but air and instead opened a rectangular portal. He turned back to see his master and ally just standing there waiting for his departure. The boy waved good-bye to his blond master as he thanked him, "Thank you, Urahara. You've taught me a lot and you didn't have to but I still have a long way to go. I'll be seeing you soon."

"I told you that you can call me Kisuke," the shopkeeper whispered as his student stepped into the portal. Almost instantly after the last part of the boy entered the portal, it vanished.

* * *

After stepping into the portal horizontally, Fernando was surprised to appear on the other side facing down. Luckily for him, a few small branches from a slowed him until he hit thick one. He noticed that someone else was also on the branch, though he was the man-ish looking person was hard to recognize as he was hunched over and hidden by the shadows of the leaves overhead.

With the impact of the teen boy hitting the branch, it did not take long for the waving branch to cause the person to lose his balance and nearly fall to the ground himself. Looking off in the direction that the man was facing, Fernando noticed that the branch was an incredible vantage point over a sort of bath house or hot spring not too far away. In exchange for the good view, the branch was unfortunately over a steep hill, which led straight for the back wall of the resort. The teen boy unconsciously gave the man a very dirty.

"Hey, what's up?" the man laughed awkwardly. Then a look of terror took over both their as they both heard the branch make a not too reassuring crackling sound. The branch could not support the weight of both of them and gave out. Both plummeted to the hill and began rolling uncontrollably towards the wall.

Though distant and quiet, the young Elemental swore he heard someone say "Now!" just before he saw two knife-like weapons strapped with inscribed pieces of paper hit the wall.

"Oh crap!" the teen heard the man yell just before an explosion took out the wall as well as damaging them both. As both them stood back up, though surrounded by smoke and the screaming of numerous women, Fernando could feel the presence of several other people encircling them. Because of the smoke, neither of the two acquaintances was able to dodge or block two other knives thrown at them as the first hit the teen in his left shoulder, disabling that arm, and the other hitting the man square in the gut, piercing and injuring him severely.

"Looks like we're in this together," the teen spoke, unsheathing his sword with his only good arm.

"Looks that way," the man coughed as he removed the knives from his new brother-in-arms' shoulder and from his gut. Throwing one back into the smoke and keeping the other in his hand, each slowly back up into each other, going back to back to ensure no blind spots. The two allies readied themselves as the smoke began to clear...


	17. Konoha or Bust!

**Konoha Or Bust!**

**AN:** Sorry about the delay but I finally finished this chapter. Been feeling a bit under the weather so I could get it finished as fast as I hoped. This is the Naruto Universe now, just a reminder. I have a fight scene in the very beginning and I would really appreciate some comments on it, where I need improvement and where I did fine. I really want to add more fight scenes and I want them to be good, not only to make it more exciting for you guys but for me too. You see a familiar face from Naruto Shippuden, the man in the previous chapter is another OC.

No, I don't own the right to Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, so please don't sue me Kishimoto, I have no money. A little allusion there for you faithful readers who also watched the Naruto Abridged Comedy Spoof Series Show by littlekuriboh. As I always say, Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

With the smoke clearing, both males prepared themselves as they could now see the blurry, shadowy figures of those surrounding. Remaining back to back, the two slowly rotated in order to count their adversaries. Fortunately, none of the figures were moving as the smoke was also working against their sight as well.

"I'm counting about 15 or 16," Fernando spoke in hushed voice.

"I got about 16 too," the man replied. "So that's eight for each of us."

Not a second later did the smoke clear did their attackers had begun their assault. They were completely covered from head to toe in black cloth, almost like very stereotypical ninja. Both defenders separated immediately. Though their numbers were greater, their skill could not match either of the two. Even with one arm disabled, the teen could still easily outmaneuver the melee attackers. As about two to three at a time attacked from melee range, dual wielding similar knives to the ones that had been thrown earlier, the others stood back and threw knives from a distance. The every time either defender tried to retreat to a more open area, the outer members of the group rained the sharp steel upon them. Finally realizing that their attacks would never end, the teen switched from the defensive, though he knew his risk of injury was heightened while trying to attack. With one quick slice, the teen drew the first blood as it dripped from his long steel and from the sundered flesh that used to be a shoulder. Following this up with a powerful kick to the chest, he sent the man flying to the ground, which was his final resting place as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

The men stopped a mere moment to look upon the first dead then glared angrily back the two defenders. Another man took the deceased's place and so continued the struggle. As another attacker fell, this time at the hands of the teen's unknown ally, the men began to intensify their strikes and as a result, finally land their first blow on the teen. The new slice was to the side of his stomach, though it only managed to enrage the teen as he now aggressively swung his sword against the melee attackers. He quickly struck down another one, breaking through the knives' steel as the attacker tried to guard against him and through most of the man's chest, spilling much of his blood beneath him. Another tried to ambush him from, but this was too obvious of a move as he was swiftly kicked by the teen and smash against another of the outer members. Neither of the two attackers had time to even look up as the teen took both their lives with a spear-like throw of his sword through both their chests.

Unfortunately, this left the teen defenseless as one of the men made a stab at his neck only to be prevented by the teen's forearm, an injury necessary to prevent death. Grabbing the man's wrist, the teen made a run for the dead bodies that sheathed his sword. Knowing that the second he stepped out of the melee he would be bombarded by knives, he stepped out only to pull the man and throw him towards the incoming projectiles. The shock of killing one of their own gave the teen enough time to retrieve his blade. This also gave the mysterious ally time to slay all three men that had him surrounded, each with a swift slice to the neck.

Now that the enemies' numbers had been halved, the two defenders took four each. The teen was forced back into a defensive stand as the four against him refused to fight him in close quarters. His ally saw this as he reached to a hidden satchel strapped onto the back of his waist. What he pulled out was a small pellet and as he threw it, he yelled at the boy, "Hey, kid! Cover your eyes!" Lucky for him, the teen boy complied as a bright flash cover the room, leaving most of the attackers blind. The teen took this to his advantage as he closed in and sliced through the gut of one ranged attackers. Though he helped his ally, the man took another slice to the stomach. The teen once again threw his sword, this time into head of the attacker that had just injured his teammate.

Seeing another one of their group fall, one of the men near the whiskered pervert attempted to take the sword for himself but was stopped by the sword itself as it grew thorn-like spikes that made Swiss cheese out of the man's hand, causing him to panic. The whiskered man took this chance to stab his attackers' chest, finishing him instantly, then kicking the body onto another of his attackers. The only left standing near him was still blinded by the earlier flash, which allowed the mysterious ally to pick up a fallen knife and fling it directly into his forehead. The attacker on the floor quickly shoved the body and leapt back to regroup with his own allies. With only a fraction of their original force, they realize that they had to think wisely of their next move.

Of the last four enemies remaining, two had shoulder guards which the silvered-eyed teen could only suspect meant they were of higher rank. Though he had been fought well up until this point, he could feel heart beat increasing was causing him to lose much of his blood through the wounds in his shoulder and his side. His enemies saw this too and focus all their attention on his left side.

His vision fading, the young Elemental knew he had little time to finish this before he ran out of steam. Suddenly, one of the two with shoulder guards charged at him but before reaching him, he began performing rather quick hand signs. With burst of smoke, several more of the attacker appeared.

"What the hell was that that he used?" the teen whispered to himself. Having no more time to wonder, he began to defend himself against the multitude of the new adversaries. But as he cut the first one, the enemy faded away into thin air. "What the hell!"

The next did the same he guarded against one of his attacks, he was confused. 'Crap these are fakes! Where's the real one?' he thought quickly. 'Wait if they are attacking in front then…' he turned to see the true black clothed man about slice him through the neck.

"Come on kid! Those were obviously clones," his mysterious ally said as he guarded the teen from the small knife-like weapon with his own. "Someone like you should already know that!"

With a roundhouse kick, the man sent the attacker flying a fair distance away. Both the officer-looking enemies turned to each other and nodded. Throwing small pellets to the ground, the men created a smokescreen for a quick getaway.

"Not so fast," the teen groaned as he threw his blade in smoke. The spinning sword created a powerful enough gust to clear the smokescreen and also managed to cut through the knee of one of the normal looking enemies' leg. The two of the shoulder-guarded men grabbed onto him and disappeared into the woods.

"They might hurt my arm but I took their leg," the teen chuckled as he retrieved his sword which had lodged itself deep into the back wall.

"Not bad kid… not bad at all," the man patted his ally on his injured shoulder.

"Agh! Damn it," the teen groaned.

"Oh, whoops! Forgot it was that shoulder," the man smiled. With all the adrenaline and heart pounding activity, both were bleeding profusely. The man soon collapsed with no warning. Feeling the effects of traveling through dimension, just as Fuu had warned, the teen felt his body grow heavy, soon his legs gave out and his vision began to fade as well.

* * *

Waking up in a well sized room, the teen noticed he received a change of clothes. He was now in nothing but a robe and socks. Although he remembered blacking out, he did not remember ever changing. In stereotypical action, he tried to scratch his head with his left hand only to find that that arm was in a sling and his wounds had been bandaged.

Noticing who he suspected was the same man he had teamed up with peeking through a window, he called out to him, "Hey! You!"

This startled the man as he was once again very concentrated on his spying. After recovering from the initial shock, the man turned around and began speaking, "What! What do you want!"

"Well, first off: Where are we?" the teen replied in an annoyed tone.

"We're in the suite of the resort we were fighting in. The old lady who owns this place wanted to thank us, so she decided to give us room while we recovered from the fight," the man quickly explained to return to his peeping.

"Who changed my clothes?" the teen asked, praying that it was not this strange man.

"Not too sure about that one," the man said quietly. "When I woke up I was already patched up and changed too."

"Who are you calling 'old lady'?" said the winy, high pitched voice of an elderly woman who had somehow walked into the room without either of the two noticing or hearing her.

Both the men fell over in shock from the sudden, unpleasant voice being heard. "To answer your question, young man, I was the one who changed both of you," the elderly woman continued.

A sweat drop formed in the back of both their heads as both had felt the same disgust from the thought of being touched by such an old hag. The old woman began to cackle, "Oh you young folk are so easy to fool. Don't worry it wasn't me. I had my daughters change you and don't worry about your clothes either; they are also washing and repairing them. You boys can just sit and relax. Take as much time as you need to heal and rest. If wasn't for you two I probably would have went out of business with those hooligans trying to rob my little resort."

"Thank you kindly," Fernando thanked the old woman in a very formal tone.

"By the way, you aren't from here, are you sonny?" the elderly woman asked. The teen just shook his head as the hunched over woman continued, "I didn't believe so. Your clothes are very strange; we have never seen anything like them. Very foreign, especially that jacket of yours. That kunai knife would have taken your arm right off if your jacket was made of any regular material we have around here. You don't have to tell us we're you're from, you have your reasons for traveling and I understand. In fact, one of my newest helpers is also traveling and just needs some money before she takes off."

"Really?" the teen asked.

"Yes, she's actually quite young. I told her I'd put her up here as long as she needed but she says she needs to continue on her journey. You young people are always in such a hurry," the old woman rabble to herself as she left the room.

"So you're not from here, huh buddy?" the man asked. "I've been travelling around myself."

With all the excitement of the day, the teen had not actually gotten a good look at his new ally. Though he suspected he was a man because of his low voice and face full of whiskers, his skin was actually still free of any wrinkle or anything that would otherwise indicate aging.

"Just for the record, how old are you?" the teen asked.

"About eighteen," the apparently young man answered. "Why how old did you think I was?"

"You seemed a lot older, maybe mid-twenties," the younger teen replied.

"Well, now. I know I didn't shave for a while now, but you're making me sound like that old hag," the whiskered teen exaggerated. "So where were you headed to, kid? Konoha? The only place I can think of that means anything around here."

"Konoha…?" the silvered-eyed teen spoke to himself.

"Wait! You seriously never heard of Konoha!" the unnamed man yelled. "What kind of shinobi are you if you don't even recognize that name!"

"Shinobi?" the teen questioned himself yet again as he searched his memory for the word. "Shinobi…Shi-nobi…Shinobi… Oh, you mean a ninja!"

The man stared in disbelief as he spoke, "What kind of rock did you crawl out of if you don't even know that? Who trained you to fight like us then?"

"Look, that's none of your business and I'm no ninja," the teen stated.

"Where are you from then?" the man glared at him.

"Where am I right now?" the teen tried to find his location as he realized that the geography of the worlds might differ greatly.

"Now I know you're not from here!" the man yelled. "Even the stupidest people know that this is the Land of Fire. You know what, I don't even care. Thanks to you I live to peep another day."

With the knowledge that no one is currently questioning his origins, the silvered-eyed teen gave a sigh of relief. It was easy for him to stand out in such a strange place, though he was probably the one that was strange as compared to the rest of the world. Though the clothes given to him by Urahara would be useful, they caused him to be questioned and without an easy explanation in a world so geographically different than the one he is used to, it would eventually cause him to be mistrusted. Mistrust leads into questioning, which meant he might have to reveal his true identity as an Elemental, plus an explanation of what was an Elemental which he still did not fully understand. As if that was not enough, he was also the Elemental of Darkness and Shadows. With such an innate taboo attached to the dark, perhaps he would be killed or forced into being a weapon.

Neither idea sounded too appealing to him and that being the case, a change of outfit was in order, though it would be hard. Not having any money from this world nor knowing the currency that is used or any way of obtaining any were huge barriers in his endeavor to blend with the local inhabitants. As he continued to think, he realized that if this man had been traveling around so must have a way of earning some quick money.

"Hey," the boy called out the peeping tom once more.

"Well the girls went back inside, no more show for me," the man said. "I guess I could stay for awhile longer here. My poor tummy does still need some time to heal."

The teen became annoyed from being ignored, "Hey perv! I need to ask you something!"

"What! You don't have to yell that, you know!" the man yelled back.

"You've been on the road for a while now, right?" the teen asked.

"Yeah… Actually more than a while, for a few years now in fact," the young man answered.

"How do you make some fast money around here?" the teen continued his line of questioning.

"Why?" the man asked back.

The boy sighed, knowing that he had to explain himself before they went any further, though it did not mean he had to tell him the whole truth. "Well I need a change of clothes, I have no money from here. I stick out like a sour thumb and I don't really like that."

"Ok, fair enough," the man said as he jumped down from the window. "Well, I don't really like working very long, so I never really held down a job at any of the little villages I've stayed at. But not long after I started traveling, I found one thing that all villages have in common: that is bounties."

"Bounties, you're a bounty hunter," the teen asked as the man did look very rugged or experienced in any form.

"No, I just turn in some from time to time to get some cash for food and bed, you know, the usual," the man said. "If you're looking to get some money for a new wardrobe, just get yourself a bounty. There's a village just to the north, they usual have a board to show any jobs that need doing, which includes bounties. In fact, I'll go with you. My wallet's running low, I'm going to be leaving pretty soon and I really don't know when the next village will be."

"Alright… Well you can lead the way, I don't know where the village is and I don't really have the greatest sense of direction," the teen said, knowing that it took a few tries to remember Orihime's exact apartment location. He still got lost on occasion when leaving to Urahara's shop which only served in longer sweeping duty.

"Yeah… no. Well at least not now. Seriously, do you think that hardened criminals will be scared of a teen with an arm in a sling and a man with half his gut missing," the man pointed out their injured state. "And anyway, do you really think you can take a bounty with a useless arm?"

"I guess you're right… You haven't told your name," the teen stated.

"You haven't said yours either and we don't really have to know each other's names, anyway," the man said. "Call me whatever you want. Anyways, according to my clan, I lost the privilege of my birth name."

"Clan?" the teen asked.

"Doesn't matter anymore, just forget about it," the lightly bearded man answered. "So what? You're going to be sticking around me for awhile?"

"I don't know… I don't really know where to head to or what to do?" the silvered-eyed teen said as he realized that though he thought about his journey ahead of time, actually taking the steps to finding somewhere/someone to train was going to be more difficult. Being unfamiliar with the worlds and their ways was something he expected but he never thought of a solution for it. There were still so many things that he could never plan for which only made his journey more difficult.

"Damn kid, sucks to be you," the man said slightly sympathetic for the teen's current lost situation. Just then, the teen thought he saw a flash, almost like a reflection of light, come from the door. Looking over to the door, he saw that it was cracked slightly open. There was someone listening, though he had little else than a hunch to prove it.

"Well… if you want stick around me for a bit, I can show you around, give you a few pointers in surviving around here and maybe get us some tail while I'm at it," the young man said with the most perverted smile on his face that Fernando had ever seen.

"Wait! You never told your name. What can I call you?" the teen asked.

"Like I said, you can call me anyth…" the man was cut off by a shrieking young woman.

"I saw you peeping on us!" the young woman screamed.

"On second thought, today is a good day to head back to that village," the young man spoke nervously. "Hurry let's go!" Both the men left room via the window as the door quickly became crowded with angry women.

As both continued to run through the forest, they looked back only to see that the women had also crowded the window and were now jammed, "And we better not see you again! You son of BITCH!"

"Hmm…" the young man thought as he continued through the forest. "Bitch… Hitch… Fitch… Litch… Mitch… That's what you can call me from now on!"

"What? Bitch?" the teen responded with a snarky comment and a sly grin.

"No! Maybe I should call you 'Asshole'…" the young man replied. "No, call me Mitch."

And with that little incident behind them, they continued through the forest. Little to their knowledge, there was a spectacled girl following along behind them, carefully keeping a good distance away.

* * *

"Fucking crap!" the two men simultaneously swore to the air. Both realized that all their belonging were back at the resort. With only robes on and nightfall setting in, they would both freeze to death.

"This is all your fault! If you could have just kept your eyes off their T and A, maybe we could have stayed longer!" the silvered eyed teen blamed his newly named ally.

"Forget pointing fingers we have to find some clothes or something… Hey where are you going?" the self named man asked as he saw that his companion was heading back.

"I'm going to get my clothes and my jacket! Hopefully they believe if I tell them I don't know you…" the teen replied. But just as he turned back around, he saw a small redheaded girl, no older than maybe thirteen at most, with glasses blocking his way.

Followed by an awkward silence, the girl seemed to be carrying something with her. She was very strange, even to native now named Mitch. One side of her hair was nice and neat while the other disheveled. Just as Fernando was about to speaking, noticed something familiar. The girl's glasses made a flash as she pushed them back up to the top of her nose.

"Wait a minute; were you the person spying on us at the resort?" the teen asked. The girl looked surprised, perhaps because she thought her eavesdropping went unnoticed. "Wait! Are you the girl that that old woman was talking about? The really young one traveling on her own?"

Finally, it seemed he got a response, though explosive, from the young redhead, "Yes and what of it!"

Not the reaction either of the two men expected as her initial impression was of a shy little girl. "Whoa now… calm down," the newly named Mitch said. "Now how did you manage to keep track of us? I made sure to that we going into the densest part of the forest to lose anyone of those crazy women who were trying to kill us."

"Correction, you. They were trying to kill you for peeping on them," the teen stated to rid himself of any blame.

"Whatever… Well, how did you manage to follow us? And why did you follow us?" the young man asked.

"Well, I heard you guys were going to get some quick money and I want in," the redhead girl said in determined voice.

"Look," the young man laughed. "We're not going to go serve people food in warm little rooms like at that resort. We're going after some bounties and if you think that a little girl like you can just ask them nicely to turn themselves in… Well… Let's just say, 'Prepare your anus.'"

"I'm not just some little girl," the redhead responded, as reached into her book bag. "I'm kunoichi!"

Strapping on to her head a head band that had a symbol like three leaning spikes, the Elemental asked, "Kunoichi?"

"Female ninja," the young man answered.

"Oh, ok," the teen said, satisfied with the short answer.

"I don't care whether you were a freakin' Jōnin, you're still not coming," the young man replied to the girl's earlier declaration.

"Then I guess you won't be having these…" the young girl pulled their left behind garments out of her book bag. Both men stopped just before taking another step forward towards the village.

"Give us one second," the young man pulled his teen companion away from the girl and behind a tree.

"I think we can just take the clothes from her if one of us distracts her and the other…" the young man began to formulate a plan.

"Wait if she is another ninja, wouldn't it just help us with we took her along," the Elemental spoke.

"But then we would have to split the reward three-ways," Mitch complained. "Anyway, if she is really a ninja, she would just be a Genin and she would have a squad."

"What if she lost her squad?" Fernando replied.

"I don't know how often you lose people but you are never supposed to be without your squad in a foreign land. From her head band I think she's from a village in a neighboring country. I think the village is called Kuso or Kusa or something like that," the young man answered.

"So we're just going to leave her here?" the silver-eyed boy asked.

"Of course not, she'll probably go back to that resort," the hairy-chinned ninja gave him a smart-ass response.

Giving his ally a dirty look, the teen spoke again, "Ok, how about we ask her what happened to her squad and from there we decide."

"Ok, fine!" Mitch pouted.

Quickly making their way back to the young girl, the Elemental asked, "So if you really are a ninja, what happened to the rest of your squad?"

The girl pulled out a set of three other headbands, much like her own but these were bloodstained, dented and scratched. "They're dead… We were just doing our first C-class mission together. We were just walking along, through the forest, Yuki and Mizu, my teammates were leading, well fighting for being the lead," the young girl said with a little smile on her face as she remembering her teammates bickering over the leader of the team. "Then I sensed a lot of people swarm around us and before I could say anything, they killed my two teammates. I was behind my sensei when I saw the storm of kunai knives fall on them, then, when it cleared, I saw their bodies mangled and bloody. My sensei told me to run and not to look back, and I listened. But after a while, I couldn't feel his Chakra either. I hid in some bushes, trying not to make a sound, and while I was hiding, I could hear them looking for me. But then they gave up, I could hear their leader swear at them for not being able to find me; 'How hard is it to find one fucking brat!' When I could feel that they left, I went back to where I left my squad. Their backpacks were all spilled to the ground and they took off my sensei's jacket and threw everything he had on the ground too. My sensei had claw marks all over him and big hole in his chest. Yuki and Mizu both were covered in kunai knives, their blood was already pooling underneath them. The people who attacked us kicked their bodies around, trying to look for something. Blood was everywhere, I didn't notice at first because I was so scared but when they first got hit, some of their blood landed on me. I couldn't carry them back to our village, so I buried them there. I took out all the knives, cleaned their bodies of all the blood and put my sensei's jacket back on, backwards though so I wouldn't see the hole. Then I left, I didn't know what to do, everything felt numb. I kept walking until I fell, then I woke up at that resort. The old lady their asked if I needed help but I couldn't talk about it just then but I know she that I had been crying because I could see that my eyes were red and my cheeks were still moist. I asked her for a job at the resort, I thought I would be safe there but they attacked again."

"So you were the one they were after?" the teen asked which she quickly responded to with a nod.

"What do you mean by _feel_? That you could _feel_ that they left or that you couldn't _feel_ your sensei's Chakra?" the young man asked.

"I don't know…" the girl replied with a shrug. "Ever since I was first in the academy, I could _feel _other people's Chakra. I could also guess how strong they are."

"Hmm… pretty strange… never heard about something like that before," Mitch said.

"When you guys first were outside, on the tree on the hill near the resort, I could _feel _you there. But I couldn't feel you," the young redhead pointed at the Elemental, "until just before the attack. Usually nobody can hide from me sensing them, so how did you? And why weren't you doing it as you two were traveling right now?"

Knowing that what she had sensed was his transfer into this world, he quickly thought up a very bad lie, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What!" the young redhead fumed, dissatisfied with his answer.

"Well, what do you think? Should we take her along?" the teen asked his companion.

"Why don't you just head back your village?" Mitch asked the small girl.

"I don't know how… And if I do head back by myself, those men might try to attack me again," the young girl replied.

"Wait, what was your mission exactly?" the young man asked.

"It was to deliver this package," the girl said as she also pulled out a small brown box, wrapped tightly with rope. "We were told not to open under any circumstance."

"I'm pretty sure now that most of the squad on the mission is dead, your village won't mind to see what was worth killing you all over," the young man said as and the teen looked over a small scroll inside the package. The girl refused to look at it as the loyalty to her village did not allow her. To the men's surprise, the scroll was sightings of one Itachi Uchiha and another unidentified so-called Akatsuki member near the border of the neighboring country. The ninja of their had apparently tracked them as far a few hundred kilometers into the Land of Fire, losing track of them shortly after. It was recommended to be on high alert as the tracking squad had also encountered some forces of another unfamiliar name, Orochimaru. It seemed the conflict ended with six squad members dead and Orochimaru's forces escaping into the forest. A description was also provided about the appearance of the second Akatsuki member and the members of Orochimaru, which consist of only four people, one woman and three men.

"Wow, you're in some deep shit, little girl," the young man told her. "No wonder they wanted you dead. You have right here a report about the Akatsuki's movements and a sighting of Orochimaru's operations here in the Land of Fire."

"Who are you talking about?" the teen asked.

"Oh, nothing a passer-by needs to know about," the young man answered.

"Who's the Akatsuki and Orochimaru?" the girl asked.

"Crap, I forgot that you're not from Konoha," the heavily whiskered man said. "Ok. Well… I haven't been home in a few years, so I only hear gossip. From what I know, the Akatsuki is a very powerful alliance between some of the most dangerous people on this planet. One known member of the Akatsuki is Uchiha Itachi…"

"Not this again," the teen sighed now knowing that the surname and the first name were switched just like in the last world he visited.

"Ok, whatever. Like I was saying, Itachi is part of a clan from Konoha, obviously the Uchiha's, which he slaughtered and afterword disappeared from the village entirely. And Orochimaru is another Missing Nin who disappeared from Konoha a long time ago. He was part of the Akatsuki too, don't know why he left. Now they think he's planning on destroying the village. Why? I don't know… Where were you headed to deliver this? Konoha?"

"Yes," the girl answered.

"Well, guess that's going to be a little hard to do with people trying to kill, huh?" the young man stated as he tossed the report back at the little girl. "Sucks to be you…"

"So we're just leave her here?" the teen spoke out.

"Yeah, why should _we_, well more importantly, _I_ have to risk _my_ life for _her_ mission," the young man answered. "You heard her; those guys back there attacked us because of this girl."

"Oh so you're just going let her die by herself," the teen began raising his voice.

"She could go back to her village. Tell them to send a new squad out here and raise the rank of this mission," the man said as he cracked a smile. "Hehe… You know I'm playing. I'm not heartless… What's your name again?"

"My name is Fernando, that's all you have know," the teen introduced himself, though still a little begrudged over his ally's very serious sarcasm.

"My name Karin, thank you so much," the girl also introduced herself.

"Alright, now that's all out of the way… Why do you need the money, kid?" the man addressed the girl.

"I was planning to head back to Kusa but if I traveled back how we came, they might ambush me again. So decided to pretend to be a normal little girl and travel on a cart back to Kusa but it's a long trip and it would cost a lot," Karin replied.

"Well, you might as well stick with us till Konoha. We're travelling there anyway," the teen said patting the young girl on her head.

"Since when were you travelling to Konoha?" the whiskered man asked as he glared angrily at his companion.

"I might as well stick with you, I nowhere else to go," the teen answered.

"I guess I could do a little babysitting till we get to Konoha," the young man said.

"Hey, I'm kunoichi!" the girl yelled as she handed back their clothes.

Gearing back up, the rag tag group of acquaintances headed towards the small village. They were, for most part, broke and though their destination was already decided, it did not change the fact that this little endeavor was going to cost some money.


	18. A Rough, but Rewarding, Welcome to the S

**A Rough, but Rewarding, Welcome **

**to the Shinobi World**

**AN:** Yo, yo, yo! Another update, another chapter and another few reviews. I would like to thank Symbolic Joker, krad09 and Blazeingeagle for their review as I have finally broke the two digit review mark. My new goal: 20 reviews! Crazy, I know! I would also like to thank each of you for your individually. Thank you, Symbolic Joker, because I was actually about to put off the this chapter for awhile but your review gave me a confidence boost that pushed me to make this chapter a fast update and also don't worry about the One Piece addition, I got that covered. Be patient and you'll be satisfied, at least I hope so. Thank you, krad09, though kind of a unique review, it is still appreciated nonetheless. And finally thank you, Blazeingeagle, and be aware that I'm slowly (and I mean slowly) going over my older chapters to fix any grammar mistakes I have. Don't be anxious for them, though, because I really want to work on new chapters for you people to read rather have you wait about two months for me to fix mistakes on chapters you have already read. See, this is why I like reviews, they tell me that people are reading the story and enjoying. The criticisms are necessary if I want to make a better story. So once again, thank you for the reviews and also I hope new people will begin to review and old reviewers are still welcome to add anything else they may want to say. And, to wrap it up, I hope you all continue to Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Hmm…" the three companions hummed in unison as they stared critically at a board filled with paper.

"Woodcutting… nope," the whiskered man said. "Finding a lost cat… yeah right. Gathering truffles… what the hell? What do these people think we are! Seriously man, that's a job for a pig."

"I thought you said all towns had their bounties," his two younger followers said as the rage in their voices slowly built up. "SO WHERE ARE THEY!"

"Ok, ok… hold on," Mitch said, attempting to calm them down. "I'm sure there's at least one bounty left…"

As the young man rustled through all the postings on the board, a villager had overheard their argument. "So you kids are looking for a bounty, huh?"

"We're not kids!" Karin fumed, the silvered-eyed teen held her back from injuring the pedestrian, though it was difficult with only one good arm. "We're ninja! NINJA!"

"I'm sorry about that," the teen spoke a little more calmly though a bit annoyed over his older companion's incorrect advice and the younger's flaring temper. "They're ninja but I'm not. Can you tell us what happened to all the bounties here? My friend told us there were plenty here but it looks like he was wrong."

"Oh no, he wasn't. About a day ago, I think, some ninja from Konoha were dispatched here to take care of them," the villager told them as the all three stopped to listen. "Lucky for us, they were starting to pile up. But they did leave one bounty though they told no one to go after it; they said they would have to call in a better squad. Something about it being a B-class mission."

"Do you know where we can get it?" the whiskered pervert pushed the teen out of the way.

"Um… I-I think they warned us not to put it back up because this guy was dangerous," the villager stuttered. "Though we didn't take it off, we still need someone to take care of him. He's been terrorizing our village for a while now. His name's Tosu, his bounty is behind the board. I don't think you kids can handle… AAAGHH!"

"NOT KIDS!" the young redhead chased off the villager before allowing him to finish.

"Hey that guy wasn't lying," Mitch said as Karin and Fernando both looked onto the piece of paper. "Wow! Holy crap in a shit basket! Look what this guy is wanted for: Rape, larsony, theft, murder, kidnapping… going AWOL, conspiracy. It'd be easier to list what this guy hasn't done. Oh, that's what he meant by 'dangerous.' They also think he might be working for Orochimaru."

"And that's bad, right?" the teen asked.

"Hell, that's almost as bad as it gets," the young man answered. "So what do you guys say? You wanna go after this guy? I mean the reward is pretty good. I doubt he's really working for Orochimaru, that guy is big time and really sneaky. I doubt he would have appreciated this kind of publicity."

"Do we really have a choice?" the teen replied. "We have no money, no food, and how far are we away from Konoha?"

"About three to four days," Mitch said. "Not counting any ambushes because of this girl."

"Hey!" the young redhead yelled as she punched him in his injured stomach.

"Well…" the whiskered perverted coughed, recovering from the blow. "If we do manage to bag this guy, we'll probably have all the money we need to get to Konoha."

"Well, I'm in," Fernando said.

"I think between the three of us we can do it," Karin said, signaling she was also in.

"Hey, if everyone else is doing it," the young man shrugged, also agreeing to pursue the bounty. "Maybe we should wait until both our injuries are healed, we won't really stand a chance if this guy is as strong as they say."

"But you heard that guy, they're probably sending another squad to come and get him right now. If we don't beat them to the punch then we'll lose the bounty," the redheaded girl commented.

"She's right, you know. They might not be that far away. You said it yourself, Konoha is only a few days away and it'll take a few days for our injuries to heal back up," the teen agreed with the girl.

"Well… I guess you guys have a point," the older ninja said as he was convinced into hunting down the ninja sooner than expected. "We just got to be careful, with your bum arm and my injured belly. Another slice to my stomach and I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing what my insides look like."

"Alright, so how are we going to find this guy?" the teen asked.

"Well, see that's the hard part," the young man answered. "Says here that he leads a couple of ninja."

"Wait, were they those guys that attacked the resort?" the teen asked.

"Maybe," the whiskered man said. "And that means that they were probably the same guys who attacked you, huh little girl?"

"Stop calling me a little girl!" the redhead fumed, though it seemed that the name calling was not the thing causing her anger to boil. "But I think you're right."

"Not often you see a pack of rogue ninja, so they probably are the same people," the older ninja thought out loud.

"So what? We weakened his forces," the teen said. "It still doesn't help us find the guy."

"I can still sense those four guys who got away," the redhead spoke with her eyes tightly closed, obviously concentrating on finding the men. "It's faint but I can still sense them, they're moving pretty slow. I think we can still catch up to them."

"Lucky for us, I took that guy's leg," the teen spoke still bitter over the injuries they caused him.

"Ok we'll follow them, but keep a good distance away," Mitch ordered as they began to follow the youngest of the travelers. "We still don't know how many ninja he has left. And two of us are still pretty hurt. We'll take them out slowly, one by one if we can, starting with his men and we'll work our way up to him."

* * *

"So… should we say something to her?" the teen question his fellow male companion as they continued following the redheaded girl, jumping from branch to branch.

"Look, in our world, the world of the Shinobi, people die pretty often," the whiskered man answered. "You can cry and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's no point in always bringing it up, she's dealing with it pretty well actually. So I say to leave her alone for now, if she wants to talk about then we'll just be there to hear her out."

"Wait!" the girl whispered. Both the ninja stopped on a dime but unfortunately, the young Elemental had no such training and instead almost fell off the branch they had stopped on, only to be caught by the end of his jacket. The older ninja lifted him back up as the teen struggled to regain his composure.

"What happened?" the teen asked.

"They stopped…" the redhead responded.

"Ok time to get a little closer," the whiskered man said. "You better stay here."

"Why?" the teen asked.

"You aren't really a ninja like you said," the young man replied. "You might get us caught, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Just because I don't know how to brake automatically like you doesn't mean I don't know how to sneak," the teen said as he zipped up, threw on his hood and made sure that his jacket was almost skin tight.

All three then slowly climbed off the branch and as silently as possible, plummeted towards the ground. It seemed to the redheaded girl that the enemy ninja had not noticed their descent as they continued into a small cave opening. Each carefully neared the cave, taking caution not to make a sound.

As they neared the cave they could here who they thought was their leader, the suspect who they also thought, more accurately, hoped was Tosu. Each peered inside the cave, poorly lit with many tiny candles and a single torch on the back wall."Idiots! Incompetent weaklings! All of you!"

"We're sorry Tosu but we couldn't retrieve the report. We did find the girl but she was being protected by two other kids, they were much stronger than anything you warned us about," one of the shoulder guarded ninja explained.

"You never told us it would be this dangerous! When you recruited us, you promised that no one would really fight after we became part of Orochimaru's men. Why then did most us die trying to get a message from one little girl!" the injured ninja exclaimed at his boss, only to be knocked against the wall with a single punch.

"You will never speak to me like that again!" the angered leader spoke. "You are in no position to talk down to me. We have not yet joined Orochimaru's ranks; that report you were to recover was supposed to be an offering to him. He would never let common criminals join him, we had to prove our worth but it seems that maybe you aren't worthy of joining his cause." And with that, the leader formed quick hand signs to create what looked to be a claw with a sickly green shade to it. And with one quick motion, he grasped the face of the injured, insubordinate ninja and held it down as the flesh melted away and the bone soon followed.

"Now that you've learned your lesson, perhaps we can get back to the business at hand. With one missing leg, that man was only going to be dead weight," the wanted man spoke. "Since it seems that you fools can't this yourselves, I'll just have to come along again."

"HOLY SHHHH…" the curse from the whiskered ninja was silenced right on time by the silvered-eyed teen.

"That was him! I recognize his voice and his Chakra, he's the one that killed my sensei," the young redhead said as her temper swelled to frightening heights.

"Calm down! We rush in now and we'll…" the teen was cut off by a screaming charge by the young girl. "We'll probably get ourselves killed."

"I can't believe you fools were followed but it looks like it worked in our favor," the bounty said as all his ninja gathered and readied themselves for a fight. The males knew their cover was now blown and that this upcoming fight was inevitable.

"Crap, come on," the eldest of the group swore as they also charged into the cave. They were soon intercepted by the subordinate ninja, who formed a wall to stop any reinforcements from reaching the young girl. "Alright, I have another one of those flash bombs from earlier. As soon as I throw it, you go and help that stupid little hothead. She's going get herself killed with a temper like that. Don't worry about me, I may be hurt but I can handle three idiots."

"Alright, ready when you are," the teen answered as the man threw a flash pellet to the floor, instantly and brightly illuminating the cave and also blinding two of the three men.

The teen charged at the third man who stood his ground as he spoke, "Don't know where you're going kid, but you're not getting through me."

"Then I'll just go over you," the teen replied, as he jumped onto the enemy ninja's head and used his Black Pulse technique to gain the speed he needed to stop the redhead's collision with the enemy leader.

With the non-ranked ninja still blinded, the eldest of the makeshift group quickly threw a couple of thin needles in his direction. Almost immediately upon impact, the enemy ninja collapsed, stiff and dead. The first shoulder guarded ninja was still picking himself up from the floor as the energy wave the teen used pretty much embedded his head into it. The second had finally recovered from the blinding light just as his opponent through another number of needles his way. Catching each one, the ninja sniffed the tip and spoke, "It's going to take a lot more than poisoned senbon to kill either of us."

He then snapped the needles and flung them to floor. Looking back at his opponent, the enemy ninja saw that the young man had a cocky smile as he stared above his head. The ninja looked up only to be greeted by a horrific sight. Apparently the senbon were just decoys as the rogue ninja saw the whiskered pervert's true plan. There was a kunai knife planted onto the ceiling and on the end of it, a paper lit on fire. "See ya, sucker!" the young man said as he stuck his tongue out. Not a moment after this did the ceiling above his unfortunate opponent collapse, the debris' weight crushing him instantly. "Alright two down, one to go."

"I won't be so easy as the other two were," the last enemy ninja said as he finally succeeded in pulling his head out of the pit it was dug into.

* * *

The teen, in the meantime, was rushing towards the young girl and the leader of the rogue group. Arriving less than a second before their collision, the silvered-eyed teen had pushed the marked man into the wall with huge of force with his pulse technique, as he did not want to risk coming in physical contact with the man's claw. With the strong impact of the man's body against the walls was the final nail in the coffin for the small cave's stability as the walls, ceiling and floor began to rattle. "Idiot girl!" the teen scolded Karin for her reckless behavior all but the bounty ran out of the collapsing cave. "The pervert and I aren't really in any shape for a fight. We could have been killed! Don't you think before you do something?"

"The fight isn't over, he's still alive!" the girl responded.

"No way anyway could've survived a cave in on their head," the pervert said, still fending off the subordinate ninja. Just then, the debris blocking the cave's entrance began to dissolve away, almost like melting ice. "Oh! Looks like I spoke too soon…"

Tossing the sling on his arm and his jacket, the teen knew he had to be as limber as possible to avoid that deadly corrosive claw. "Amateur! I don't know what kind of Ninjutsu that was but it was pathetic!" the leader said as he emerged from what both males in the ragtag group thought was a certain grave.

The bounty was much quicker than the teen had expected and he had rushed to him with a neck-breaking speed. The teen still dodge the attack but the enemy leader once again out sped him. "Give it up kid! I was a Jonin before I went rogue. There's no way I would lose to you," Tosu said as he kicked the injured teen sent him rolling along the grass.

'Crap, that was a hard kick. Don't think I can take too many of those,' the teen thought to himself.

"What's this? Is your arm broken? Here let me do you a favor and take it off your hands," the marked man said as he grasped the teen's useless arm, burning the skin.

"Get off of me!" Fernando retaliated by kicking the leader with both feet. The attack caused a considerable amount of pain but thanks to his Elemental sturdiness, his arm was still in one piece, though was still stinging and had a nasty burn mark. In the cave had been too cramped to draw out such a long weapon, but now out in the open, the teen was free to use his blade.

"That won't do you any good, I'll take that arm off too," the leader spoke. Before the teen could draw the sword, Tosu managed to grab hold of his forearm. Though it wasn't enough to stop the Elemental from drawing it from its sheath his sword, it was enough to start losing grip of it. The struggled continued until the silvered-eyed boy could no longer take the pain and allowed his blade to fall out of his hands. Trying to once to free himself from his enemy's grasp, he tried the same tactic of kicking the man off but the enemy leader was ready. Instead of getting kicked, Tosu stopped the boy's leg, clawed at his chest and with a kick of own, sent the teen flying into the nearest tree. Smashing his back against tree, the sharp pain caused the boy to open his eyes quickly enough to dodge the rogue ninja's claw that would have otherwise pierced through his torso.

Running to retrieve his weapon, the teen had thought he could trick the enemy leader into falling for his pulse technique again. Knowing his opponent's speed was greater than his own, he waited until the wanted man was about to charge at him once again with his claw. Rapidly spinning around, the teen used his technique but the leader managed to sidestep the attack and continue his own. Fortunately, the sidestep delayed the attack long enough for the boy to dodge the incoming claw and counter it. Unleashing a powerful combination of fists and kicks, the teen managed to separate himself from the enemy leader with one last kick that sent the man flying backwards.

* * *

Meanwhile, the perverted ninja was in his own rough battle as the shoulder guarded subordinate now had observed the style of fighting his opponent used and countered it effectively. The last of the rogue ninja took care to stay close enough to the whiskered young man, not allowing him to draw anything from his hidden pouch. This ninja was particularly different as he was apparently the only who could use any techniques, constantly creating clones and even using a more advanced technique than what the experienced bounty hunter had thought his enemy was capable of. As when he tried to reach for some of his hidden weapons, the ninja threw some kunai knives at him, only to discover he had thrown them at a clone. Just as the young man though it was safe to draw out his weapons, a large number of throwing stars appeared.

"Crap, didn't think he could use the Shadow Shuriken technique? What else can he use then?" the young man asked himself as he narrowly escaped being ripped to shreds. Though he managed to dodge most of the shuriken, he was still grazed by a few and one had struck him on his hand. The enemy ninja appeared behind him, only to be barraged with a great deal of senbon. The whiskered pervert thought it was over, unfortunately, he was wrong. Suddenly, with a puff of smoke, the enemy ninja transformed into a log. "Damn, Substitution!" the young man spoke to himself. But that was not the only disappointment, and not nearly the biggest, as the log fell, it had attached to its back a burning paper. "OH, FUCK MY LIFE!"

The log then exploded, sending Mitch flying clear across the battlefield. "Too easy!" the enemy ninja exclaimed as he walked up to his severely injured opponent. The man was lying down seemingly unconscious when the ninja reached him. "Now die!" the ninja threw several shuriken at the unconscious body.

"You really shouldn't get so cocky!" the young man said from some unknown location as the body lying on the floor transformed into a log as well. "You're not the only one who knows how to substitute…" The enemy ninja then panicked as he looked every which way to find his opponent.

"Now burn bitch!" the young man once again spoke as the subordinate ninja felt an intense heat from above him. The heat was radiating from a giant fireball heading right towards him, letting out a horrible scream as it engulfed him in flames.

"Heh, that'll teach you not to mess with me," the young man said slightly panting. The fight had worn him out but he knew that his other two companions were still dealing with the leader. Although he was willing to help, his body just would not allow it. Sustaining a large amount of damage from the explosion had weakened him but he marched towards his comrades, forcing his body to move.

* * *

The struggle to retrieve his blade continued as the teen's opponent blocked the way. With every step he took, the sword looked farther and farther out of his reach. The fear of the boy reaching his sword now very serious, the leader knew only one way to stop his progress. Swiping low, the bounty took out the teen's ability to walk as he clawed at one of his legs. The wanted man then took the chance to pounce on the debilitated Fernando and held down both his only working limbs.

"Got to admit, kid. You were persistent till the end but it's finally over," Tosu said, readying his claw above the teen's face. "I'll see you in he…" Tosu's words were cut by a single senbon flying through the air, only to be melted away by the man's claw. "Idiot!" the wanted man said as he threw an explosive kunai knife at his opponent's ally in retaliation.

"Oh crap…" Mitch said. The kunai knife detonated less than a foot before reaching him. Though he did guard against it, using his forearms as shield, the explosion still knocked the young man unconscious.

"Heh, there goes your reinforcements," the enemy leader said, lightly laughing at the attempt to save the teen. "Now there only that little girl to save you and what is she going to do? Run away again?"

Freeing his arm, the teen grabbed onto the claw, slowing it down. But the claw continued as the teen felt his strength begin to fail him, the burn on his forearm and now his hand were draining his power rather quickly. "Come on, kid. Make it less painful for yourself, just die already!"

"She's not a 'little girl!'" the teen spoke as he struggled to keep himself alive.

"What?" the wanted man asked, seemingly confused.

"I'M KUNOICHI!" the redhead yelled as she sliced the wanted man's arm right off using the teen's sword. The man then let out an awful scream of pain as the claw dissipated from the severed arm, freeing the teen from the threat of death.

"Cutting it a little close there, don't you think?" the silvered-eyed boy asked as he pushed the screaming man off of him. The girl handed the sword back to the teen, though it made him wonder, 'If the man who tried to pick up his sword was spiked as he gripped the handle, then why was it that Karin was able to wield my sword?' He had never seen before that happen before when Urahara or anyone else touched it.

'Well, kid… It's because you finally woke me up,' a voice, a feminine voice echoed inside his head. 'Ah… Nothing like a little food to wake up sleeping beauty.'

Thinking of the other voice in head, this one sounded nothing like the first. The first, sounding much more like a combination of different voices, while this one was one distinct voice. Thinking back about what other source could it, a lecture about the Zanpakutōs being living spirits came to mind. 'Could it be?'

'Ding, ding, ding! You got it!' the voice said. 'I'm your Zanpakutō. Oh and I will never allow any other _man_ to wield me, only you of course. Men are so inferior; they cannot provide life that women can, so why should they be able to take it away?'

'So if you're my Zanpakutō, will you tell me your name?' the teen thought.

'Umm… Not yet, you still got to prove that you're a worthy master!' the Zanpakutō spoke. 'You're still a man, after all, and the only reason I'm allowing you to even wield me is because you found my blade. If it wasn't for you, I would still be sealed off. We'll talk later, for now I'm feeling a bit tired.'

The teen heard a yawn echo through his head, he quickly thought loudly, 'Wait!'

'Like I said, I'm feeling a bit sleepy. A girl's got to have her beauty sleep; you should know that, you love to sleep too. Till next time, ciao!'

Then his head went silent, no sound at all. Getting back to the screaming man, the teen noticed the redheaded girl was kicking him around. She was clearly frustrated how he could not take any pain but it seemed that she was struggling with something else. Something her expression told the teen that she was still spiteful towards him, perhaps still wanting to avenge her fallen team. Unknowing of how the bounties worked, the teen did know whether to allow her or not.

"Aren't you going to stop me?" the redhead said as she reached for a kunai knife. "Aren't you going to say that revenge is wrong? That it's better to be merciful and forgiving."

"Well, you don't have to be forgiving? That takes a lot of strength that many people don't have," the teen said, as he tossed her his sheathed sword. "So do it if you want, I really won't think anything less of you for it. I'm after a little revenge of my own on this little adventure of mine, so I'm no one to judge someone else who wants revenge. Only you can decide whether you want revenge… Let me tell one thing though, his victims in that village may say they want him to answer for what he's done, justice they call it. But I think they only want the satisfaction of executing him themselves and the way they want. Justice, revenge, it's all the same to most people."

Unsheathing the sword, she thought deeply about what she was about to do as she stared at the reflection of her eyes on the steel. In one quick stroke, she ended the wretched bounty's life, executing the man by beheadment. After handing his sword back to him once again, the young girl helped the injured teen to the spot where their other companion lied unconscious. Both knew that the teen was in no shape to travel without assistance. And though the girl was still a bit shaken from claiming her first kill, she soon felt the emotion exhaustion get to her and fell asleep. The teen stayed up, not knowing what other dangers there were out in this strange world.

* * *

"Hey, Karin! Wake up!" the girl heard two voices shout at her.

"Huh? What?" the young girl woke up, a bit startled.

"You guys are so lucky that the bounty for this guy," the whiskered ninja held up a bag, most likely holding the head of the marked man, "can be claimed dead or alive. They only do that when they're serious trouble. Let's head back we can get patched up at the village."

"Alright," the teen answered as the redhead nodded.

* * *

The villager created a giant ruckus as the three person squad made their way into the village, with two being critically injured and the girl looking quite lost and shaken. As the villagers gathered around the ragtag team, the whiskered pervert dropped the bloody bag and said simply, "We want our money."

Whispers could be heard throughout the crowd as they gossiped about what could be in the bag. "Did they… No, they're just kids… They're no ninja…" the group heard the whispers. "No way! HA! Looks like Tosu wasn't so tough, if a bunch of kids got to him. I should have gone after him myself."

"Well? We did it… Where's the reward you promised?" the whiskered ninja said as he became frustrated.

"I'm sorry to say that we have already paid the Konoha ninja for the bounty, they were supposed to come back in a few days and take care of him," an elderly man spoke.

"WHAT!" the three said simultaneously, Karin breaking out of her trance-like state.

"But we will treat you to a bed and bath, food and medicine if you like," the elder spoke as the rest of the village cheered with him confirming that the head was indeed that of their tormentor.

"I guess… but we also need supplies for at least four days," the whiskered pervert added.

"And we will stock you up on any provisions you need, young travelers, anything to be rid of that horrible Tosu," the elder spoke.

The villagers cheered and carried them off to a small hut as they heard more of their voices cheer loudly. "I was afraid of raising a child here because Tosu, my husband was afraid we would have to move but not anymore." Another said, "That pig, I wish I was there to rip his tongue out. After raping my sister, I would've given anything to be the one who killed him. But I'm glad he's dead, let the maggots take care of the rest." Yet another story, "Now that we no longer have to pay tribute to that vile Tosu, we might be able to start thriving and becoming a real village."

"Wow, this is pretty nice…" the teen smiled as he was let down gently on a bed. "Is it always like this?"

"I wish, man, I wish," the pervert laughed as he thought about how much the village girls would have "appreciated" the group's triumph over the bounty.

"Can I ask one more thing?" the redhead asked.

"Of course, dear," the elder spoke.

"My group was killed by Tosu and his men," the redhead revealed. "I dug some shallow graves west of the resort to the south. I would really appreciate it if someone could bring them back to our village of Kusa."

"Of course anything for those who have suffered under Tosu as well!" the elder exclaimed. "For now all three of you can rest, our nurse will help you with your injuries."

"You better not ruin this one, too," the teen spoke to the perverted ninja, referring to the incident at the resort.

"Oh, come on. Get over it already," the young man spoke. "Everything worked out in the end. We have our supplies, and there patching us up for free too."

"So when will we be getting back on the road… or should I say tree branches," the teen said as he preferred walking to jumping from tree branches. It made him a little primitive to be traveling like some sort of squirrel.

"We could get going as soon as you can walk, I'm telling one thing: I'm not carrying your ass all the way to Konoha," the whiskered ninja said jokingly.

"It won't take me long," the teen promised, remembering his regenerative abilities to be quick. "I'm a fast healer. We can leave in about 2 days."

"We'll then I hope they have our supplies ready by then," the young man replied. "Here's hoping the nurse is cute."

Just then a heavy set "woman" entered the room. She had not looked anything like the perverted ninja had imagined, with her hairy upper lip and less-than-perfect skin.

"Awww!" the older ninja wined in disappointment.

* * *

"Hey," Fernando heard a whisper wake him the middle of the night. It was the whiskered ninja; he was sitting up on his bed, hoping he had awakened the sleeping Elemental. Not being one to be woken up early than he wanted, the teen stubbornly ignored the call.

Being insisted only angered the young Elemental as the older male continued to call out to him. "Come on, I just want to know one thing."

"What!" the silver-eyed teen sat up, clearly annoyed.

"It's been bugging me for awhile now," Mitch said quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping hothead as she might actually try to kill him out of crankiness. "You've killed before, haven't you?"

"Maybe," the teen answered as he lied back down.

"You've killed a lot, haven't you?" the young man asked.

The teen's eyes widened as he thought to himself, 'How could he possibly tell? How did I make it so obvious?'

"I knew it; I saw how you handled yourself back at the resort. You didn't hesitate one bit as you took those ninja down," Mitch explained. "You didn't even look shocked that you killed somebody. You took their lives like it was nothing, second nature almost."

"What's your point?" the teen asked.

"Nothing, if it wasn't for that killer instinct, you and I would probably be six feet under by now," the whiskered pervert replied. "I won't go poking my nose in someone else's business… That is unless it's the business under smokin' girl's clothes."

A pillow flew across the room and hit the pervert's head dead on. "Such an idiot…" the young Elemental said before falling back to sleep.


	19. Out of the Woods But Behind Bars

**Out of The Woods But Behind Bars**

**AN:** Yo everybody! I'm back for another update! Unfortunately, this is kind of a shorter chapter. It's 3k words but I'll be writing the next one as soon as possible. Other than that, no other important notes to take. So as I always say, Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

The days leading to the groups leaving were uneventful as Fernando was bed ridden and the girl of the group did what many girls do with their down time: she kept up her appearance. And the perverted ninja, clearly ignoring the warning that his fellow companion gave him, continued his peeping but fortunately, this time he was careful to not get caught in the act. The villagers, as promised, prepared them some backpacks filled with supplies such medical salves made in by the villagers, as they saw that the group was going to obviously need some, and food.

Finally after three days of rest and recuperation, the Elemental's regenerative abilities, along with the villagers' medical salves, finally closed his wounds sufficiently enough for travel. A couple of stretches were required for him to adjust to his underused legs.

"It seems that you're feeling much better," the villager elder had been waiting for him at the door. "You heal very quickly."

"Lucky for me, huh?" the teen intentionally avoided giving any additional information.

"We have prepared your supplies and they are ready whenever your group is ready to leave. Of course, we will have to ask for our payment from Konoha back once they send the second team back," the elder spoke.

"It does not matter to me, I have not connection to them," the teen responded.

"Yes, it's strange that you have the training to complete a bounty on an experience rogue ninja," the elder said, very suspicious about the teen's advanced abilities.

"Yes, well I still had to rely on my team. Alone we might have lasted very long against that man but numbers can give you the edge in a battle," the teen said.

"Well, in any case, Tosu was still no pushover. You should look to getting accepted into Konoha's ranks and become a ninja," the elder said.

Realizing that joining the Konoha ninja meant joining a squad which also meant receiving a teacher, the teen replied to the old man, "Maybe you're right, I'll have to look into it if I have time."

"Looks like you're healed up nicely," the whiskered ninja said. "And I heard how you're thinking about joining Konoha's ninja forces. I hope you know it'll be pretty hard for an outsider to join; they like to keep their secret training techniques to themselves. Even for some pre-trained like you…"

"Can't you put in a good word for me?" the teen asked.

"I can try, but like I said, I was kind of banished from my clan. Didn't leave in a good note either," the oldest of the group answered.

"I wonder why?" the teen said sarcastically, referring to his habit of peeping on women. "Get ready, we're leaving today…"

"When did you become leader?" Mitch said as he had gotten used to the easy peeping among the village girls.

"Since you forgot that we were on a mission," the teen responded.

"Ugh! Fine, let's just get what's-her-face and leave," the older ninja grunted.

"My name is Karin," the redheaded girl said, clearly getting annoyed by him.

"Alright let's pack up and move out," the teen ordered. "The faster we get going, the less likely well jumped by another group of rogue ninja who want that report. Since you, Karin, can apparently sense other ninja; just warn us about any enemies closing in on us. You have to stay vigilant, though. Don't get caught off guard."

The reunited trio were then given their supplies and sent on their way.

* * *

Fortunately for them, the rumors that the squad carrying the message had annihilated discourage many of the other rogue ninja to look for the report as they thought they had already missed their chance. So trip for the estimated time was, for the most part, uninterrupted. They were attacked once in awhile by a group of bandits who were just trying to scrape up whatever they from travelers but, at least according to the oldest of the group, it was to be expected as during his travels alone, he had experienced the same problems. The bandits were of very low skill and easy fend off, so not too much grief was caused by their unexpected attacks.

* * *

Finally on the start of the fourth, eating what remained of their food supply the two younger companions finally decided to ask the inevitable question, "Are we there yet?"

"We should be a few hours away, or less. I haven't gone back to Konoha in a long time, so I could be wrong about it having been four days away," Mitch said as he began to doubt his estimate. "Hey, you… umm… What's your name again? Fernando! That's it! Climb that tree and see if you can see it."

"The village of ninja? It isn't hidden or something?" the teen asked.

"I guess you're right, it probably should be but it isn't. If you can see a big ass wooden wall or some big wooden gates then you found it," the whiskered man said.

"There's a problem with that," the teen bashfully said. "I kind of don't know how to climb."

"Wait, so how did you get to the top of the tree when we first met? That's where you fell down from wasn't it?" the young man asked.

"I jumped," the teen lied.

"Ok, well then just jump to the top like before," the older male said.

'Crap,' the teen thought, not knowing whether he could reach the top with just one jump. Thinking again, he remembered his pulse technique was able to propel him pretty high up during his fight with Fuu. His idea worked as his pulse shot him up a good distance above the tree. He was so happy it actually worked, he almost did not grab onto one of the top branches.

As he grasped the branch, a large batch of nuts rained down on the young redhead below. "You're going to pay for that when get back down!" he heard her yell.

Scouting the horizon, the teen first saw nothing but forest until his eyes caught a large wall made of huge logs. "Ok, I'm pretty sure that's it," the teen said to himself.

"I found it!" the teen yelled, before hearing a growling noise. "Seriously? You're growling at me, Karin? It was an accident."

"What are you talking about?" the young redheaded girl asked.

"Wait, if wasn't her, then what's making that noise?" Fernando asked himself. Turning around, he came face to face with a pair of small yet menacing eyes. Before he could say anything else, his face was dug into by small claws and tiny teeth. "Oh god!"

Losing his balance, the teen plummeted down to ground as he struggled to get the small creature of his face. "Get it off!"

"What the hell?" was the older ninja's only response as he saw the strange sight of the teen being assaulted by a squirrel. "Smash it against the tree!"

Though he ran at full sprint face first into the nearest tree, the squirrel was still quick to avoid being sandwiched between his head and the tree. Instead, the teen face took all the abuse from the tree.

"At least that's over with!" the teen said, relieved to have his face squirrel-free again though it was still very badly scratched up by the small creature.

"Ow!" the perverted ninja said as he was hit with a nut launched from the tree. Soon all three were being pummeled by a hailstorm of nuts as more squirrels joined the original one's cause. "Run!"

* * *

Finally making it to the large wooden structure the teen had seen on the horizon, the group paused to catch their breath. They had to run the whole way as the squirrel army had followed them from most of the distance.

"You just had to get the squirrel angry, didn't you?" the eldest of the group asked.

"It's not my fault, that was demon squirrel! Look at my face!" the teen screamed angrily as his face stung from the abuse.

"Well… at least we're finally here," the whiskered ninja said.

"Ok, so where's the door bell?" the teen said sarcastically as he applied some the salves the villagers packed had packed for them on his cuts.

"You know I'm actually not too sure how were supposed to ask to get inside," the young man said.

"So you're saying that we're stuck out here until someone sees us?" the redhead asked, becoming somewhat annoyed.

"You really have to work on that temper," the teen said before receiving a slight beating from the young girl.

"We can check the other entrance, that one might be open," the whiskered ninja said, ignoring his companions' squabbling.

"It's better than just sitting here," the teen said, recovering from the girl's lashing.

* * *

They arrived at the other entrance and found this one to actually be open, "See what I tell you?"

"Maybe you should always second guess yourself," the teen made a snarky remark before proceeding. The tired group continued until approached by a person obviously standing guard.

"What is your business inside Konoha?" the guard asked as the group came to a stop.

"Well…" the young man pulled the guard aside and whispered in his ear. The guard appeared to be shocked by something as his eyes momentarily shot wide open.

"Ok… what you two?" the guard asked, regaining his serious demeanor.

"I'm from Kusagakure, I've been sent to deliver this message to Konoha's Hokage," the young girl spoke as she pulled out the message.

"Ah, yes. We've been expecting for quite awhile," the guard said as he signaled for another guard. Handing off the message to him, the second guard instantly vanished. "We'll be sure he receives it. Where is the rest of your squad?"

"They did not make it," the redhead said, though it was no longer in a sad tone as her vengeance was already gained.

"I am sorry to hear that, we file for an escort to take you back to your village as soon as possible," the guard said.

"And you, what is your business inside Konoha?" the guard asked.

"I'm looking to join the ninja here…" the teen answered.

"That is no simple process, we don't usually accept outsiders into our village," the guard said.

"Told you," Mitch said with a slight smugness.

"You can start by giving us any identification papers possible," the guard continued.

"I… don't have any," the teen replied.

"Then please hand over your weapon, it will be given back to you as soon as have the papers to properly identify. It's standard procedure," the guard said, reaching for the blade attached to Fernando's back.

"I'm afraid that neither of those things will be possible," the teen said as he stepped away from the guard, preventing him from touching his sword.

"What are you doing!" the whiskered ninja whispered harshly. "Do you want to die!"

"I can't give him my weapon, remember what happened back at the resort when that one guy tried to grab it," the teen said, trying to spark the memory.

"You mean the spike thing, I thought that was you doing a ninjutsu," the young man replied.

"Well you thought wrong… again," the teen said. "It does that on its own; I have no control over it. My sword will only let women wield it."

"So you're a…" the older male began to come to a conclusion.

"No! I'm a boy! With a penis and everything! My sword will only let women and **ME **wield it!" the teen corrected himself.

"Umm… is there any way we can have a female guard confiscate his weapon?" the young man asked.

"There are no female guards on duty currently. So please me your weapon and you can enter the village," the guard as he reached for the blade once more.

"You asked for it," the teen said quietly to himself. As soon as the guard touched the hilt, the spikes from before protruded. The guard was quick enough not to lose his hand to the spikes but one had still managed to stab him deeply in his palm.

"You want to enter the village and you attack a guard!" the guard said. "We will place you under arrest until further notice."

"I don't think so," the teen said before using his pulse technique on the guard and attempting to run.

"You're not going to get too far," the whiskered pervert said. "Just a friendly warning."

"Damn!" the teen said as he was soon cut off many other guards. Thought the guards attacked, the teen refused to attack back knowing that injuring more guards would only aggravate the situation. Instead continuous avoid the attacks and tried to escape inside the village.

"Ooooooo… Bad move there buddy!" the oldest of their group yelled as the teen was intercepted by a man unlike the guards. Somehow, he knew this man was much more experienced than the guards. With grey-ish, silver-ish hair and a mask that covered all but one corner of his face, this man definitely stood out.

"I'm not looking for a fight…" the teen said as neither made a move for the first few seconds.

"Neither was I, I was just passing by, reading, when all commotion happened. Now look where we are," the man spoke.

Readying himself for an attack, the teen waited only to be surprised by the man's sheer speed. He managed to deflect the first attack, but the man reappeared behind him and, just as quickly, pinned him down.

"Now are you going to play nice or will I have to take your toys away?" the man said as Fernando knew he was toying with him. He too reached for his weapon. Knowing that his blade was going to react in the same way, the Elemental gathered all the energy in him to make the pulse technique stronger, hoping he would be able to create a repulsion wave all around him.

The technique worked and it did just as he wanted, knocking over the strange silver-haired man. It did come with a cost as it drained him considerably. Having not even enough strength to stand, the teen knelt as he warned the approaching guards and the strange man, "I can't control who my sword allows it to touch. It will only let me and women touch it. If any other man tries then it will do same thing it did to him to any of you. You can arrest me but you can't take my weapon."

"You expect us to believe that?" the wounded guard said.

"He's not lying," the whiskered ninja approached. "Here I'll test myself. Take it off and put it on the floor."

"You sure?" the teen asked and, with receiving a nod, took off the strap and lied his weapon flat on the floor. Slowly reaching for the hilt, Mitch reluctantly touched it for less than half a second as the spikes reemerged. Though he was quick as well to remove his hand, he also did not escape injury. Some of the spikes still managed to make shallow stabs in his hand.

"See, no handsigns, no tricks," the whiskered ninja said. "His sword has a will of its own. And he can't control it."

"So what women? How can we trust that even women can hold it?" another of the guards said, still skeptical.

"Hey, Karin! You mind proving to these guys that he isn't lying?" Mitch said as he signaled for her.

Already having wielded the sword before, Karin had no fear as simply picked it up off the floor.

"Looks like you were telling the truth. Unfortunately, you still resist arrest. We still must take you away," the guards said as they took into custody.

"Sorry, can't really do anything about that, buddy," the whiskered ninja said as they carried him off to an unknown location.

"Don't worry about me. This won't be the first time I've been taken jail and I'm sure it won't be the last," the teen said, trying to lighten up his two other companions.


	20. Past Problems

**Past Problems**

**AN: ** Yes, I have been working on this chapter. I just couldn't find inspiration to finish this chapter. I'm sorry for the delay but here it is. Please continue to: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Three bare, grey walls surrounding him and an empty, narrow hallway on the other side of the steel bars were the only sights within Fernando's cramp cell. He lied on the floor looking up at the ceiling, just as grey as the walls. Boredom was beginning to setting in as he did not know whether or not he would be let out. He knew they would never find any identification papers for him because in this world, he did not exist.

His only hope was that the whiskered ninja he had journeyed with would somehow be able to convince the village to allow him to at least leave the village, instead of letting him rot in their jail.

'So you're placing all your hope on a stranger? You should really be more careful about what you do in these different worlds, some will be much less lenient in putting you down,' the long missed voice, from the beginning of his adventure, said.

"Well, well, well. Look who's back. I thought you abandoned me a long time ago," the teen said, a bit annoyed at the voices return.

'Well, you were doing such a _great_ job before, we didn't think you need our help,' the voice said, obviously mentioning the two fights which he entered. 'You have to be more careful, when you transfer between these dimensions. It drains your life force; you must wait a few weeks before you can travel through another portal. It's true that you'll feel the fatigue less and less as you travel but that doesn't mean it drains you any less.'

"So you're telling me I'm still as drained? But I feel ok now," the teen said.

'You'll slowly regain your energy but for the most part; yes, you are still drained. And those fights you got into didn't help. There are consequences for using too much of your energy at once,' the voice explained.

"Like dying?" the teen responded.

'That's only in the extreme case of using all your energy,' the voice continued. 'For using most of your energy, you'll revert back to being a human for a while until your energy can be restored. Your regenerative ability will no longer be with you and you know what that means…'

"Yeah, I know…" Fernando said, clutching his chest.

Hearing footsteps approaching the cell, the teen turned his head towards the bars and saw a pair of sandals stops on the other side.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't my favorite jailbird!" the voice rung familiar. Sitting back up, the teen saw it was actually his newest ally. This amazed him, an almost complete stranger came out of their way to visit him but there he was.

"What did they say? Will they be letting me go?" the teen asked.

"Well, let's just say that you're lucky that the old man is giving you a chance. I vouched for you and he put me in charge of you but remember one thing, I'm held responsible for anything you do. So do me a favor, don't go all psycho and try to escape again," the whiskered ninja said as a guard came to open the cell.

* * *

As they walked down the street, the citizens walking by continued to stare at the lightly bearded ninja and his companion. "People are staring…" the teen said.

"Well of course they are. Look at you, you don't really blend in with all those weird clothes," the ninja replied.

"What about my sword? Where is it?" the teen asked.

"In lock-up. Until they have you and your weapon registered, you won't be seeing it again," the older male explained.

"How are they going to register me if I'm not from here?" the teen continued questioning the man.

"I don't know! What the hell do I look like? An info office?" the man exclaimed after his patience gave out.

"Ok, fine, I guess I'll just go see what hell I can stir up… I won't be in jail alone this time," the teen said, walking away from the angered ninja.

"Shit! Wait, wait, wait! Ok, look, I'm just a bit stressed out. Coming back home after such a long time and after I was kicked out, it's just a lot to take in," the perverted, young man explained.

"That wasn't a very good apology," the teen said.

"Take it or leave it!" Mitch yelled.

"Fine, whatever… So what, now?" the teen asked.

"We bum around till they give us the all clear…" Mitch said but paused to think. "Actually thinking about it now, we might have to go to the academy for a quick demonstration. We have to at least might their standards to be accept as part of the ninja here."

"I thought you were already part of it?" the teen asked.

"Well… you see… I kind of left the village without permission so…" the man said as they changed direction.

"You're a moron. You went AWOL and you just stroll back into the village that you abandoned," the teen insulted him.

"I knew the Hokage would understand, he's actually a really cool, old man if you give him a chance. Think about it, if he wasn't, you'd be still in that jail," the whiskered man said.

"So where are we headed now?" Fernando asked.

"We're going to the academy, just to take a look at what they're doing there. That will be the very minimum of what they're gonna ask us to do," the man replied. "But you probably don't even know the basics, do you?"

"Probably not," the teen responded which received a long, loud sigh from the whiskered ninja.

* * *

"And so, now each of you will try a Transformation Jutsu!" they heard one of the instructors tell their students. Though, at this moment, the silvered-eyed boy was much too busy watching the rest of children practice drills outside to listen to the going-ons inside. As he watched the children training to throw the same strange knives from before and learn the fighting styles, it struck familiar to his memories of being trained. Though, he shook his thoughts free of this, not wanting to remember those times.

"Not much changed since I left. Looks like the graduation requirement is still the Transformation Jutsu and Clone Jutsu, so all we have to do is make sure that you can do both techniques and we're all good. Also, I should teach you some of the basics too," the perverted man said as he looked over to his newfound responsibility. Noticing that the teen was distracted by something, the man could not help but ask, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah… it's just… never mind. Yeah, I'm fine," the teen responded as he shook off the memories that made their way into his current thoughts.

"Well, we can start tomorrow. It doesn't look like you're up to it today," Mitch said. "Instead, how about a night out on the village!? We can hit that ramen shack from early today and that one other little shack we passed by. You know, the one with all the cheap Sake! Till then, why don't we take a little stroll around the village? Get you a little familiar with the entire village."

"Aren't we a little under aged to be drinking in public?" the teen asked.

"Do you really think anyone cares? I mean, the guy running the shack won't care as long as we pay him and no one else will because we are practically old enough to be considered adults around here. As long as we can handle our Sake, no one will mind. You can handle your booze, can't you?"

"Better than you!" the teen said.

"Oh-ho-ho! I think I was just challenged! Then bring it! We'll see who's better later on today!"

* * *

"Alright, I think I should show you the training grounds outside the village," the whiskered ninja spoke.

"I thought we, or at least I, couldn't leave?" the teen asked, only to have his mouth covered with the ninja's hand.

"Who said anything about leaving the village?" the young man laughed awkwardly.

"But you just said…" the teen was again interrupted by the ninja's hand.

"Shut up! Dumbass!" the ninja whispered harshly. "Look this is a good way for me to show you the Transformation Jutsu… Watch my hands…"

"I thought you said we'd start tomorrow?" the teen questioned.

"Well… We finished pretty early. We have enough time to get your feet wet," Mitch said. The young man then made some hand signs, obviously slow enough for the Elemental to see. A puff of smoke appeared seemingly out of nowhere and when it cleared, it revealed on old man will a long, scraggly beard. "See? Easy… All you have to do is imagine the person, or thing, you want to transform in to. Also, just make sure to keep a steady stream of Chakra flowing or your transformation will…"

"Wait up! What Chakra are you talking about?" the teen interrupted as the old man in front of him returned to being a young ninja. 'The only kind I've ever heard was that Chakra from Asia.'

'He seems to be teaching you a technique to disguise yourself as another person but that's not necessary…' the voice in his head returned.

'What do you mean?' the teen asked the voice, drowning out the whiskered ninja's explanation about Chakra.

'Well… The Elementals have a couple of inert abilities that do not change from when they are replaced by another. Like the Elemental of Wind you found, you saw that she had the ability to fly as would any other Elemental of Wind that came before her. You have certain abilities as the Elemental of Darkness,' the voice explained as the ninja in front of Fernando waved his hands in front of the teen's face.

'That would have been nice to know earlier. Are you going to be nice enough to list them out or are you going to be an ass again?' the teen thought.

'LOOK IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA APPRECIATE WHAT WE DO FOR YOU THEN MAYBE WE SHOULD STOP!' the voice switched tones.

'You're the one who chose me to be your Elemental. Obviously you picked me for a reason,' the teen directed his thoughts towards the voice.

'Perceptive little devil, aren't you?' the voice asked again changing its tone. 'Anyways, there are two abilities you should find very useful. The first we nicknamed Shadow Masquerade, it has basically the same effect as the technique this man is trying to show you. There are few big differences, though. For one, you must touch the shadow of the person or thing you are disguising yourself as and secondly, this technique requires no energy, to activate or maintain. The only way to break the technique is to remove or break the mask created on your face. The second ability is that to see clearly in the dark and be completely camouflaged while in the shadows.'

"ARGH!" the teen yelled after feeling a forceful backhand slap. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"You kind of drifted off to your own little world so I had to bring you back," the perverted ninja said. "Did you even hear a word I said about Chakra?"

"Nope!" the teen admitted.

"Bottom line, Chakra is a type of energy. We ninja manipulate it to use numerous techniques, get it?" the irritated ninja explained.

"Alright, alright. How are you so sure that I have any chakra?" the teen asked.

'Oh, but the energy the Elementals contain is adaptable to any other type of energy needed to activate any technique you can learn,' the voice echoed inside the walls of his skull. 'There are limits to this, though. As certain techniques you will come across will be naturally and strongly aligned with another Element, which will make it impossible for an Elemental of another to use the technique.'

"Well, as far as I know, everyone has at least some chakra in them but the ones that train to be ninja work to increase the pool they already have. And by the way you handle yourself, I say that you should have a good amount in you, at least enough to pass their tests," the veteran ninja said. "Ok, so watch this."

The ninja then transformed into a normal looking citizen that wore an apron.

"Ok, so you're some guy," the teen stated. "How does that help us get out there?"

"Well, if you can transform into another look-a-like, then we can pass off as traveling merchants. That is if you can even do the jutsu," the regular Joe explained.

Not knowing whether the technique the ninja was talking about would work, the teen waited for passer-by to come close enough for him to snatch their shadow. The ninja stood next to him, confused as he waited for him to perform the Transformation Jutsu. Eventually a young woman walked by, her shadow within arm's length. Carefully and sneakily, the teen reached for her shadow. By merely wanting to take her appearance, the teen felt and the ninja saw a dark looking mist swirl around his arm and make its way to his face.

Once the mist settled into mask-like form on his face, the teen took the young woman's appearance instantly, from her hair to her clothes.

"Huh?" the teen looked at his new form. He carefully observed his new girlish figure. "I have an ass… and boobs?" Even his voice had changed, which was quite a startle once he heard it.

"What kind of jutsu or technique was that?" the still disguised ninja asked.

"It's called… Shadow Masquerade," the teen said, as he continued to try to adjust to his new body type. "It's actually my first time using it."

"But then how did you know how to use it?" the ninja asked, curious to this boy's mysterious training. "Yeah… don't worry about it. The first time transforming into, well, a girl always feels weird. You'll get use to it after a few more times. At least, with our technique I did."

"Alright, now what?" the teen asked in his new, high pitched voice.

"Now let's see if you can trick the guard!" the disguised ninja said as he dragged his companion along. But before they were able to even reach the gate, they were blocked by several guards. "Maybe we should have transformed somewhere farther from the gate."

"They saw us, didn't they?" the teen asked as he removed what looked to be his face. Once completely separated from his flesh, the face turned into a dark, black mask. His appearance returned to normal and he crushed the mask immediately, not wanting to leave it behind. As the pieces evaporated, the ninja also returned to his regular self.

"What do both of you think you're doing?" one of the guards asked them.

"We were just going for a walk…" the ninja lied.

"The Hokage told us to keep our eyes on you two. Neither of you can leave the village until after he allows it," another guard said.

"Ok…" Mitch said which was followed by a silent stare down by the guards. "Well, this is awkward, huh?"

"We should probably go now…" the teen said, wanting to leave the uncomfortable situation.

* * *

"Another stunt like that and we're both going behind bars! Nice going!" the ninja said as they walked towards a small, indistinct shack.

"What!?" the teen exclaimed. "It was your idea in the first place."

"Well, you shouldn't have gone along with it!" the ninja responded. "So I say it was about 50/50."

The ninja only received a sharp glare as a reply as they took their seats. The shack had its spirits nicely shelved on the back wall; above the shelves was a menu and Chekhov's gun. The two young men began looking at the menu but then a thought came to mind when the younger teen saw the prices.

"How exactly are we supposed to pay for this?" the teen asked.

"Oh yeah, the old man gave us some cash for helping in Karin's mission," the ninja answered. "Yup, he told me to give half to you."

"When were you planning to give me my half?" the teen asked.

"I was working on it," was the ninja's response, causing the teen facepalm.

"I think I'll start with that," the teen said, trying to remain positive.

* * *

"You know wha'?" the drunken ninja spoke. "You ain't half bad!"

"I think you had enough…" the now lightheaded Elemental said as he took the bottle of sake.

"Hey! I thought you were coo'!" the ninja yelled as he snatched the bottle back. "I'll decide when I have enough! Fuck!"

After pouring so many drinks, the bottle was left empty. The teen, still sober enough to remember to pay, then grabbed some of their shared earnings and handed to the man who had been attending them.

* * *

After stumbling for what seemed like hours, the duo made their way to secluded part of town.

"Told ya I'd us a place a," the stumbling ninja was interrupted by a burp. "A place to crash."

"You sure we're allowed in there," the teen asked as he noticed tape over many of the doors of buildings.

"Yeah! Don't even worry about it! It's my place now anyways," the drunken ninja said as he broke through the tape. "Come on! You can sleep right here, I'll go sleep down there!"

"Isn't that the bathroom?" the teen asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna vomit when I wake up. I wanna be prepared," the ninja said as he passed out, his feet still in the hallway as he slept on the floor.

* * *

"Hey! Where'dja go?" the still inebriated ninja asked, after coming to. His search throughout the house turned up nothing but empty rooms.

"Up here!" the teen shouted from the rooftop.

"Oh shit!" the ninja jumped as he heard the voice seemingly come from nowhere. Noticing an open window nearby, the ninja climbed up onto the windowsill. Still very drunk, the ninja missed the roof's edge and began falling, only to be caught by the leg by his ally. "That wasn't smart."

"No, no it wasn't. You should stick to sober climbing," the teen said as he pulled the ninja onto the roof.

"What the hell are you doing up here anyways?" the ninja asked.

"I don't know, I had a huge headache. I thought the night air would help," the teen replied as he rubbed his temples.

"It's called a hangover, deal with it. I know that I'll have to deal with a huge one, I already feel it coming on," the ninja said as he banged his fist against his head. "Oh man! That's not the only thing I feel coming!"

The ninja then bent over began to empty out the contents of his stomach all over the side of the roof. His new friend came and lifted him from the ground. Using the teen as a crutch, the ninja began to walk again, though both had to stop for another minute of vomiting. "Come on… Let's get you back into the house. I don't want you passing out on me out here."

* * *

Putting the ninja into what looked like the master bedroom, the teen began making his way back to his own quarter. But a sudden, sharp pain in his chest stopped him from proceeding so far as the doorway. Heavy breathing followed as he tried to withstand the pain, loud enough to begin rousing the sleeping ninja. "Not now…" the teen said quietly to himself.

The heavy breathing was replaced by violent coughing as the teen fell to his knees. Trying to muffle the coughs with his hand was useless as the ninja awoke.

"Hey! Are you ok there?" the ninja asked as he sat up on his bed.

"I'll… I'll be fine," the teen said as he limped away, using the walls as support. The ninja walked to the doorway only to find a bloody handprint on the floor. Looking down the hall, the ninja noticed more bloody prints along the walls.

"'Fine' my ass," the ninja said, now knowing the teen had just lied to him.


	21. Team of Two

**Team of Two**

**AN:** Sorry I haven't been able to update in such a long time. I've been pretty busy. I hope to have the next chapter done by mid-November (again, very busy and also working on my other two stories takes time away from writing this one). Alright, two big reveals in this chapter. Nothing new to report other than that. As I always say, continue to: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey, liar! Wake the hell up!" the no longer drunken ninja yelled as he pulled the young Elemental off the borrowed bed.

"ARGH! What's your problem!?" the teen yelled back as he quickly awoke from his sleep.

"This is!" the ninja yelled as he pulled out his guest's wallet. "I knew you weren't from here at all. This language, I've been all over the world and I've never seen anything like it. Where are you from?"

"Not from here, obviously," the teen said as he dusted himself off. The building obviously had not been used in a very long time as dust had accumulated on every inch of the room and throughout the rest of the house.

"Tell me now!" the ninja ordered, pushing the wallet onto the teen's face.

"Look, even if I did want to tell you the truth, not only would you never believe me but you'd probably think that I'm insane. Anyways, it would take forever," the teen said as he took his wallet back.

"Try me," the ninja responded.

"If I tell you where I came from, you **cannot** ever repeat what I say to you to anyone. I don't know how much I can stress that," the teen whispered, pulling Mitch in close using his shirt as leverage.

"There are some things I know that would get me killed if I said anything about," the ninja replied. "I think I know how to keep a secret."

"Alright, let's see… Where do I begin?" the teen said as he let the ninja fall from his grip.

* * *

"Oh, ok," the ninja said as he took in all the unbelievable information. "So what you're telling me that you're some inter-dimensional traveler with the ability to control shadows."

"Actually, I'm not too sure what my powers are exactly," the teen replied. "So far, all I've been able to do is that pulse technique from before, some claws that come and go, and that new one where I transform into the person whose shadow I touch."

"Pretty lame, how do you not have anything cool like Nara's?" the ninja said. "I heard that they strangle people just by using their shadow."

"Look, I'm still pretty new to this and…" the teen paused; another stroke of pain had built up in his chest. Collapsing again from the pain, the young Elemental began yet another fit of coughing. This time, though, the coughing was even more violent and moved into the zone of uncontrollable very quickly. And, with one last breath, the teen passed out.

"Crap…" the ninja said, not knowing what to do.

* * *

Opening his eyes, the teen now saw that he was in a peaceful, little room that was divided by a curtain halfway. A couple of seconds later, he saw his ally's face pop out of nowhere.

"How was your nap?" the ninja asked, hoping to scare the teen. He succeed somewhat as the teen was more surprised that the ninja was somehow hanging upside down.

"How the hell are you up there?" the teen asked. "It's like something I would see out of a Spider-man movie."

"It's all about chakra…" the ninja said. "There so much crap that you can do with it!"

"I'm going to have to learn some of those tricks," the teen said.

"So… what's up with the toxins all over your body?" the ninja asked, getting straight to the point. "I think you _forgot_ to tell me about that. That little coughing fit you pulled off in my room made me suspicious, why didn't you just say that you were sick?"

"It's not that I'm sick that I didn't want to tell you. It's why I am," the teen said. "There are reasons why I leave out certain things from my life."

"Well, just give me the barebones of why you're sick," the ninja ordered.

"Basically, I was injected with experimental drugs that were supposed to enhance my natural talents. Again, the drugs were experimental; they couldn't predict the side-effects," the teen said.

"Who's _they_?" the ninja asked.

"That's not exactly the 'barebones' of my situation, now is it?" the teen said, signaling he would not say anymore. "How much longer am I going to be here?"

"Not much longer. They've never seen the toxins that are inside your body before," the ninja said. "The medicine they gave you is just keeping them at bay. It's not destroying them."

"Nothing new. Even in my own world, they had no clue how to fight the toxins," the teen said. "They were able to give me a death clock, though. I had about three years left in me, if I was lucky. By then, I would be rotted from the inside out."

"Wow, heavy…" the ninja said. "I don't what to say."

"If you knew more about my life, you'd probably say I had it coming," the teen said. "Anyways, the only thing that's been keeping me okay this whole time was my regeneration. When it slowed, I started to feel the toxins attacking my organs again."

"Wait a minute, does that mean, back in your original world, you were always feeling that?" the ninja asked deductively.

"Well, only to a certain extent. You get used to it but some days, I could feel it creeping up on me," the teen answered. "Have you seen my jacket? If you did, you'd find all sorts of hidden slots where I had knives. On days where I didn't feel very well, I carried the knives. People used to pick fight with me pretty often because I only spoke to a few people and I had a look on my face that always appeared like I was always judging all the others. Probably because I was but that's not the point, the point is that I carried those knives because I couldn't afford to 'play fair' much of the time."

"What do you mean?" the ninja asked.

"Although most of the time it was just fist fights, people have pulled guns on me before and I've shot a couple of times," the teen replied.

"Guns?" the ninja asked for an explanation of this weapon he had never heard of.

"Sorry, I didn't know that this world wasn't that far yet in technology. Basically, think of it as a weapon that can shoot small, metal projectiles at very high velocities. Shooting it at a person at the right spot usually could be lethal," the teen explained. "Not that shooting them anywhere else wouldn't hurt like hell…"

"And they let kids have these things. Your world sounds dangerous," the ninja thought.

"I won't argue that, people died every day. But your world isn't too much better," the teen spoke. "You're giving children, little kids, knives and training them to kill."

"Not all the kids are trained to be ninja," the ninja responded. "Only those who show a good store chakra."

"Oh nice, you're elitist too," the teen said. "But don't worry about it; I think it's something all worlds have in common. That and kind people but I guess that also means there some pretty nasty people out there, too."

"What you mean 'kind people'?" the ninja asked.

"I've been one lucky bastard to have found some people kind enough to stick by me even though I'm a stranger to them. I mean, first I found a girl who I barely knew and she took me into her home. Then you, we managed to team up together and fight off some random guys who tried killing us without more than a couple of sentences to each other. Then after getting myself arrested, you vouched for me even though you could have just left me in that cell. Maybe it's just a case of right place, right time but there's something to it," the teen tried explaining himself.

"Don't forget about how you made us bring Karin along," the ninja said.

"Huh?" the teen asked.

"Yeah, we didn't have to take her with us. It wasn't our job or anything. I didn't want to because of how much trouble I thought it'd be but you convinced me that if we didn't take her, she probably would've die," the ninja said. "And what do you know! She ended up helping us out!"

"Fate… maybe," the teen shrugged.

"Well, I hope you're ready to get going," the ninja said.

"We're leaving already? I mean, I haven't even seen a doctor," the teen asked. "How are you so sure that it's ok for us to leave?"

"Because we don't have enough money for the bill," the ninja said. "Unless you wanna be scrubbing urine pans around here, I think it's time to go."

"But my stuff, my clothes," the teen whined.

"Don't worry, here's your clothes," the ninja said, tossing the strange clothes at the boy. "And the rest of your stuff I already snuck off back to my house."

"How exactly are we going to get out of here?" the teen said, quickly dressing himself.

"There's only one way out that they'll never think to look," the ninja said, jerking his head towards the window. "Hope you're bones aren't as weak as your lungs!"

"Fine! Let's go," the teen said as he vaulted out the window.

"Crap!" the ninja yelled, looking down at the boy as he fell. "I didn't actually mean to jump out the window. I could've carried you down."

Still staring at the teen from the window above, Mitch saw as the young Elemental landed with a bit of a stumble but with no apparent injury. In such a huge fall, easily three stories, the ninja was surprised as the teen just waited patiently for him to also come down.

"Man, if I did something like that, I'd have a broken leg… at least," the ninja said as he descended by using his chakra to cling to the wall. "Nope, that kid is definitely not human. Guess he's not a complete loon."

* * *

"So how did you become an 'Elemental'?" the ninja asked as they reached their safehouse. "I mean, how do you just get chosen out of all these people that apparently live in other dimensions too? Is there like a ritual or a requirement?"

"Well, the voice in my head, the so-called 'guiding voice', said that I was chosen for a specific reason. To redeem the name of the dark but why they exactly think I can do that I never could figure out," the teen replied.

"It makes sense, though. I mean, the dark has a lot bad things tied to it," the ninja said.

"That's another thing I'm sure about that is in every universe. The fear of the darkness," the teen added. "That's why I can't just go around saying, 'Hey there, I'm the Elemental of Darkness. Nice to meet ya!'"

"Two things could and probably would happen if you went around doing that: 1) They would think you're a raving lunatic," the ninja commented.

"That's actually still up in the air," the teen said. "It feels like I'm growing a little more insane with each world I visit. Huge, black monster spirits with white masks, talking cats, people being able to control the Elements, ninja children, oh and let's not forget the voice in my head!"

"And/or 2) They'd think you're evil might try to kill you," the ninja laughed.

"Oh yeah, it's so funny that people would try to kill me if they don't try to stick me in some insane asylum first," the teen said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, but try to i-imagine it in their shoes," the ninja said barely being able to catch his from laughing. "Some random guy comes up says, 'Can you show me around? I'm not from this dimension. Oh yeah, I can control shadows too!'"

"Alright, alright," the teen chuckled. "I guess I would kind of stupid if I went around like that."

"Ok, enough laughing," the ninja said, calmly down. "But seriously, you have to get some new clothes. You stick like a sore thumb!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you all this time," the teen said, once again annoyed by the ninja's lack of listening skills.

"Anyways, let's go get you something that matches this dimension," the ninja laughed.

"Wait, let me ask you something. Actually, three things: Why did you believe me so easily and why didn't you act how you said most people would?" the teen questioned the ninja.

"Well, you see, I really didn't believe you until I saw your journals," the ninja said. "I opened them up and that language I saw inside there, same as you wallet, I've never ever seen anything that even closely resembles that. With that weird clothes and your story, I saw that as more than enough proof. And I didn't rat you out because I saw that you had my back during our fight at the resort, you brought that little brat along with us, and you defended her even when she nearly got us killed. I say that you have a good heart beneath that serious exterior. Why so serious, man?"

"Anyways," the teen said, brushing off the compliment. "What would I have to wear to 'fit in' around here?"

Just then, a knock at the door interrupted them. The ninja got up to answer it and, to his surprise, it was a long unseen acquaintance of his. A frowning, dark haired boy was standing at the door, looking very annoyed.

"What exactly are you doing back here!?" the boy said, obviously holding back a yell. "I heard that you were back… I was hoping Itachi had killed _you._"

"Oh, well, well, well, if it isn't lil Sasuke? Oh, look how you've grown!" the ninja said in a demeaning tone. "The brother of the great Itachi, slayer of the Uchiha, his own clan and family…"

"Shut it!" the boy said, letting his rage off its leash. "There's nothing for you here! You were exiled from the clan and you know it! The seal that locks your Sharingan is reminder of that!"

"What seal?" the ninja said with a cocky smile on his face.

"What do you mean? That seal should've been impossible to break for you alone!" Sasuke exclaimed as he searched the ninja's face for any trace of it. "So you're telling me you managed to break it! A fool like you managed to gain his Sharingan?"

"Oh, po' lil Sasuke, don't you have yours yet? Your brother got his when he was pretty young, in fact, I think he was younger than you are right now…" the ninja said, the cocky smile never leaving his face. "Seals aren't forever, kid."

"If you think you can redeem yourself by killing Itachi, then you're wrong… He's mine and I'm not letting…" Sasuke began saying.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy," the ninja said, flicking the boy on the forehead. "I don't want to 'avenge my honor and my family'. Kid, if you want to waste your time on that, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to bury your stupid, little corpse when your brother finishes off the clan. I'll just be lounging around here, with a wife with nice, long legs and a tight ass."

"How could you feel no pride in being an Uchiha?" Sasuke asked, gritting his teeth.

"But don't you remember, I'm not one anymore," the ninja replied, without the cocky smile leaving his face for a minute.

"You're not welcome here!" the boy said as he walked away. "Why don't you just leave!?"

"It was nice seeing you too, Sasuke!" the ninja said, waving good-bye. "Hope we could catch up more later!"

Suddenly, the boy stopped as he saw something flash by him. It was a group of guards that had stopped just steps behind him, at the entrance of the house. The guards had come to retrieve the two occupants of the house for the evaluation of their skills, overseen directly by the Hokage himself.

"Oh, sorry, Sasuke," the ninja called to him. "Our little catching up will have to wait for another day. Looks like I'm too busy meeting with the _Hokage _today. Does tomorrow sound good to you?"

There was no response from the young boy as he angrily stomped away.

* * *

"Begin!" the old man in a white overcoat said. This was, as Fernando learned, the Hokage, leader of the village and most of skilled and powerful of the ninja there. All the other ninja paid much respect to their leader and, in order to increase his chances, he had as well. The first test was, as predicted, going to be the transformation technique.

The teen was unsure of whether his own technique would pass as the technique they were looking but, having no other alternatives, it was his only chance to pass this test. His partner easily performed the technique with no problem transforming into the Hokage himself. As his ally left the center of the circle formed by the Hokage and his guards, the teen quickly touched his shadow. As it happened before, the stream of shadow energy slithered around his arm and eventually settled onto his face. As it did, the teen then appeared as the perverted ninja.

"A strange technique you have there, my guard had already reported it to me but I had to see it myself," the Hokage said as he narrowed his eyes to examine the transformed. "It may not be the normal Transformation Jutsu we learn but, nonetheless, it works. Are there any limits to this technique such as Kekkei Genkai?"

"Huh?" the teen asked back.

"He's asking whether it can be passed through a bloodline or if it's a technique anyone can learn or if you're the only one that can use it," the ninja said to his double.

"You see, as far as I know, I'm the only person that can perform this technique. Its limit is that I must touch the shadow of the person whose appearance I want to imitate and," the teen removed the mask that covered his face, reverting back to his normal form, "it this mask is destroyed while I'm wearing or I remove it, the illusion fades. It also requires no energy on my part. That's as much as I know about this technique."

"On to the next test, the Clone Jutsu," the Hokage said as waited for one of the two to perform the technique.

"Wait! You didn't teach me that!" the teen whispered harshly to the ninja next to him. "You didn't even show me that!"

"Umm… just like I do," the ninja said as he quickly performed some hand signs. With a sudden puff of smoke, three copies of him appeared.

"Idiot, you did too fast, I couldn't see the hand signs you used!" the teen complained. "I don't even know how to actually do a jutsu."

"Sucks for you, doesn't it?" the ninja said as he walked off the middle again. "Just try something!"

The teen tried to form the hand signs he thought he saw but nothing happened. Again he tried another set of made up hand signs but again the result was nothing. After his third unsuccessful attempt, the Hokage stopped him, "You do not know how to use the simplest of jutsu? Even our youngest know this technique. I am sorry but have failed this portion of the evaluation."

The teen swore under his breath as he knew that failing part of this evaluation was very dire. He was an outsider which meant that he would be scrutinized much more harshly as his loyalties were not known to them nor were his intentions.

"Let us begin the final test; I want to evaluate your taijutsu. Each of you will have to fight these guards that brought you here, if you can either defeat them or demonstrate that your taijutsu is adequate, you will be given a pass for your taijutsu," the Hokage spoke to the two test takers. "Seeing as you have failed the last portion, you shall go first."

The teen nodded. He was confident that his hand-to-hand combat skills were still up to snuff with those of the ninja in this village, even if he had not had too much practice lately as he concentrated more and more on mastering his swordsmanship. Then three of the guards stepped in the circle, the teen was still did not waver. He had already overcome worse numbers.

But as the battle commence, the teen realized that his movements and reflexes were slowed. Then a tightening in his chest had formed. He knew what this was, his body still needed more time to rest before entering another battle. The energy the voice in his head had mentioned was low from the many confrontations he already had.

'Now you're realizing it, aren't you?' his guiding voice returned. 'The energy you use in battle is directly linked to the energy that is used to regenerate your injuries and body. Use too much energy in combat, there won't be much left to help regenerate you afterword.'

"Crap," the teen said quietly as he barely was managing to keep himself out of harm's way from the ninja guards' attacks. He felt himself already exhausted and also the tightening becoming even more painful. Clutching at his chest, he felt another uncontrollable coughing fit begin as blood from his mouth filled his hands.

"We haven't even touched him yet and he's already bleeding," one of the guards antagonized the teen. "Too delicate to be a real ninja."

It worked; the teen let his temper flare as he swung at one of the guards, all the while coughing out more of his own blood. His movements were so slow and weak that the guard simply brushed away the teen's blow. Another guard gave the young Elemental a strong knee to the stomach and then the last delivered a powerful kick that sent the boy crashing into a tree trunk.

"Come on, get up!" the teen's ninja allied quickly appeared to lend him a hand.

"Wait, Hokage, shouldn't we stop the test? That other one stepped in when it wasn't his time," one of the guards on the sidelines asked.

"Let it continue…" the Hokage said simply.

"I can't do anything right now, I'm feeling…" the teen began saying to the ninja.

"How about some dirty fighting?" the ninja replied. "Can you manage that?"

"Yeah," the teen said, smiling. "I think I can."

As the guard rushed them, the teen quickly scraped some dirt up from the ground and flung into the eyes of his opponents. Allowing the ninja to take the lead, the ex-Uchiha started a long chain of punches and kicks against one of the blinded guards. Meanwhile, the teen kneed another in a _very private _place, causing him clutch his groin in pain. As he bent over, the teen brought the guard's head the rest of the way down, onto his knee, knocking out the guard instantly.

As the ninja finished knocking out his own opponent with one final and powerful punch, the third guard had finally cleaned out his eyes, just in time to see the teen wrap his jacket around him. Spinning him out of the jacket and towards his partner, the teen and the ninja volleyed the guard back and forth between until they decided that he had enough. Then as the guard reached the teen, the ninja quickly moved to the same side and with a simultaneous kick from duo, the guard crashed into a tree nearby, unconscious just as the other two.

The teen panted as he stood in disbelief that they had actually been able to pull it off and knock out all three guards, considering his current condition. Then they suddenly heard footsteps approaching behind them. Turning around, they saw it was the Hokage. Realizing that Mitch had interfered with the teen's test, the two broke out into a cold sweat. They worried what the Hokage was going to say; was he going to expel them from the village or was he going to fail them both for it?

"Unfortunately, I cannot allow either of you to pass this test of taijutsu. You, the former Uchiha, for intervening in this young man's test and you, young man, for failing to defeat or stand against the guards on your own," the old man said. "Furthermore…"

"Wait, you expected me just to let the kid get his ass handed to him because he was feeling a little under the weather," the ninja spoke out.

"His sickness was no excuse. In the real world, your opponent will not hold off striking you until you recover from an illness or injury," the Hokage replied. "Now if you let me continue. I will allow both of you to enter the ranks of the ninja of Konoha as Genin. I can offer no higher rank than that."

Both the teen and ninja were confused if they had failed their test, especially with the teen failing two, why would the Hokage allow them to join the village?

"Ok, I'm not saying that I don't want to join but why?" the ninja asked.

"There are two reasons: your team chemistry and your will to do anything to pass the test. Most would have never sunk to the combat you two showed in order to win a battle but those are the fools whose pride is too great," the Hokage said.

"They can keep their pride, I like winning and surviving way better," the ninja said.

"And it also seems that you two can fight as allies very naturally and the teamwork I witnessed in that fight was very inspiring. In Konoha, we rarely send ninja alone. They work in groups and teamwork is essential to the success of a mission," the old man said as he turned to face his guards. "Please see to them receiving their headbands. Also, as they are a special case of Genin, who did not travel the normal route as the rest in the academy, they will receive their mission directly from me. As for a sensei for their group, they will receive training from the free time that the other sensei have."

"So we have no group leader?" the ninja asked.

"Hmm… very true," the Hokage responded. "Very well, as your team is already short one member, I will assign leader for missions. On any mission you are sent on, your group will be led by Ebisu, until a permanent sensei can be found."

"So what are we supposed to do without a sensei until then?" the ninja asked. "I mean, are we supposed to teach ourselves?"

"Seeing as your new teammate is far from standard in ninjutsu, perhaps it would be best if you tutor him in the skills you already know," the old man said.

"It's better than nothing, I guess," the ninja said as he turned to his new teammate. "What do you think?"

Unfortunately, his partner was already collapsed on the ground. It appeared that the test had taken up the rest of his energy. After all the strain that he had been through, the teen's constitution was severely weakened and he needed his rest.

"Don't worry about him," the ninja said to the Hokage. "He'll be fine. He's just had a _long _day."


End file.
